Innocent Games
by Tanya Takaishi
Summary: At a high school party, the chosen children face typical teenage drama until they are sucked into a world that will test the essence of their relationships and their very souls. Takari/Daikari. Kenyako/Daiyako. Sorato/Taiora. Joumi.
1. The things we bear

**Author's Notes:**

This story takes place after the end of season 2, but there are a few key things I do not mention. Since I began this story before the final episodes of season 2 every human will _not _have a digital partner. In this alternate world, so to speak, digimon are still unknown among the majority of the human population. There may be some mention of the other foreign chosen children, but they will most likely not be making any appearances.

There will be a few Japanese terms occasionally; I didn't want to Americanize the story completely and I like the reminders that these are not English speaking characters (even though I write them that way). I'm only using Japanese honorifics when the characters are speaking to adults in the dialogue (for example: Izumi-san for Mrs. Izumi). I also refer to the characters as the Chosen Children rather than digidestined and I will occasionally refer to Ken's past as the Digimon Kaiser rather than the Digimon Emperor.

**Update! 3/30/11**: I have made some more edits to the story to fix some issues with name confusion at the suggestion of Sonfaro. Thanks so much for your input! It's a decision I had been struggling with for some time in the story and I hope that this will help it read more smoothly.

I have chosen to use both Japanese and English dubbed versions of the character's names, but the narrative will use their dub names (with the exception being Iori).

The 01 character's English dub names are nicknames in this story (as they were portrayed in the first season dub, i.e.: Koushiro "Izzy" Izumi, Yamato "Matt" Ishida). Their Japanese names will be used when referring to their full names and also occasionally in the dialogue (especially when their families are speaking with them).

For the 02 characters:

Iori "Cody" Hida will almost exclusively go by Iori. Cody is Iori's English name he had used in an English language course, but he is attempting to drop his old nickname so only a few persistent characters (*cough*Davis*cough*Tai*cough*) will still call him Cody. Daisuke "Davis" Motomiya will go by his English nickname Davis, but for a few exceptions in the dialogue. Miyako Yolei Inoue goes by her middle name Yolei.

For reference the character's ages are listed below:

Joe = 19 (in college)  
Tai, Matt, Sora = 18 (seniors)  
Mimi, Izzy = 17 (juniors)  
Yolei = 16 (sophomore)  
Davis, Ken, Kari, TK = 15 (freshmen)  
Iori = 13 (junior high)

I will be sticking with the English dub versions of the digimon's names simply because I remember them best.

Now that I am done rambling, I give you the story. Enjoy and please review!

* * *

**Innocent Games**

**Chapter One  
The Things We Bear**

* * *

In a mess of books and blankets a small pig-like creature was silently stalking his prey. His tiny black padded feet were soft and light and, with a delicate flap of the large ears on his head, he floated effortlessly over any obstacles in his path. Just beyond bound paper and creased sheets, the little creature could make out a head of smoothly combed straw.

He sucked in a breath of air, ready for his assault.

"Boom bub-!"

A huge human hand flew over his mouth and the air deflated into its palm like a loud raspberry.

"I don't think so, Patamon," a warm voice laughed as the hand freed the little monster.

"Aw, I just was having fun, TK," Patamon chirped, ears drooping as he collapsed in his teenage partner's messy bed.

TK smiled and tossed a comb into the nest of books and sheets. "I know, but if I have to go this party, I'd rather not look like I walked through a hurricane to get there."

Patamon gazed up at the tall fifteen-year-old. TK had grown a lot since he had met him. His face had lost the last traces of baby fat and he had shot up as tall as his older brother. His blonde hair had become almost as untamable as well. The straw strands were already sticking up in defiance of the combing.

TK's attitude, on the other hand, was the opposite of his brother's. He was more easygoing and didn't have a problem making friends. His worth ethic and athleticism had helped him gain instant popularity with both teachers and peers in high school.

As Patamon watched his partner spray something smelly on himself, a strange sensation slowly seeped into his core. At first he pushed it aside. Maybe the brown stuff in Ms. Takaishi's mug that morning was making him feel funny; TK had told him not to drink it. Then the feeling became overwhelming, like a thick wave of dread. As Patamon continued to watch his partner attempt to gain control over his rebellious strands of hair, the thought of letting TK out of his sight suddenly terrified him.

"TK?"

The blonde raised an inquisitive eyebrow as he buttoned up his shirt.

"Um... why do you have to go to this… uh…?" Patamon stumbled.

"Party?" TK supplied.

"Yeah. Well, do you really have to?"

TK shrugged. "No. I don't _have _to go, Patamon, but I already said I would. It'd be rude to back out at the last minute. Why?"

There was no explanation for the sudden feeling that had come upon the rookie digimon. He recalled Gatomon teasing him about being a baby and he gulped nervously. "I was kinda hoping we could spend some time together."

The blonde smiled softly as he set down the bottle of cologne he had been holding. He reached his hands out and picked up the small monster so they were eye to eye. "Patamon, you know I love spending time with you! You're my best friend! We can do something tomorrow, ok?"

"C-can I come with you?"

"Patamon… this isn't really a digimon friendly event." When the rookie deflated in his arms, TK frowned. "What's wrong?"

"I don't want you to go!"

"Why?"

"I just don't!" Patamon barked, jumping from TK's arms and back onto the bed.

"I can't take you everywhere like I used to. It's not really normal for a teenage boy to carry a stuffed animal around."

"But I'm not a stuffed animal, I'm your partner!"

A sudden sound from outside TK's room caused Patamon's large ears to perk and his entire body tensed in anticipation.

A moment later, TK's mother called, "Takeru! Yamato's here for you."

Patamon's ears instantly lowered in defeat.

"Tell him I'll be ready in a minute, Mom!" TK called back. He grabbed a heavy black jacket off his dresser. "I'll only be gone for a few hours. Tomorrow we can go to the park together, ok?"

"But what if something happens to you?"

TK's lips tightened into a frown and for a moment, Patamon thought he had won the argument. "It's just a party, Patamon. I'll be fine, I promise."

Involuntary tears instantly welled up in the rookie's large blue eyes, but he quickly turned away and hid in the sheets. There was a long pause as the chosen child of Hope waited for his partner to respond, but the digimon could only concentrate on the battle of thoughts in his head.

"I'll see you later, ok?" TK tried again.

After another moment the bedroom door closed, leaving Patamon alone. In the hallway, he heard TK greet his brother and then the sound of the apartment door shutting behind them.

In a whisper, as if to convince himself, the tiny digimon finally squeaked, "Yeah, I'll see ya later."

* * *

TK placed his elbow on the open window, pressing his cheek on his open palm as he watched the ocean below the Rainbow Bridge. Beside him, his brother tapped his fingers on the steering wheel like a nervous tick, but the small thumps were still perfectly in sync with the beat of drums that boomed from the radio.

They were headed into central Tokyo, where a very rich kid (a friend of a friend of a friend) had his large home to himself for the weekend. It was a perfect opportunity to throw a house party, something that was difficult to do in most flats without getting caught by parents.

Taichi Yagami had called the brothers up earlier that week, insisting that they needed to help him 'liven up the party.' Before they could protest (which Tai said he knew they would), he also informed them that Mimi was going to attend, so it'd be a perfect opportunity for a mini reunion. It seemed that almost all the chosen children would be attending, except for Izzy (who had managed to convince Tai he had an extremely important project due on Monday) and Iori (who was 'still too young for a good round of binge drinking').

This 'reunion' only further discouraged the blonde brothers from attending. Due to recent events, there were people in their once tightly knit group they would rather not see, but that excuse only caused Tai to tell them to 'man up' and the discussion was over.

TK sighed in exasperation, unsure what he'd do if a situation requiring him to 'man up' were to present itself.

Matt stopped drumming on the steering wheel and glanced at his younger brother from the corner of his eye. "You ok?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." TK kicked his feet onto the glove box and continued to watch the passing scenery for a few moments before turning to his brother. "Matt?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think I've been neglecting Patamon?"

Matt's eyebrows creased. "No, TK. I don't think so. You have school and a life outside of the digiworld. Patamon understands that."

"He didn't want me to go tonight."

"Why not?"

"I don't know." TK looked away, not wanting to discuss it further. Matt seemed to understand and didn't ask any more questions.

The car stopped with a small jerk as they reached their destination. Groups of teens were already crowded outside the large home, drinks in hand.

Matt took the keys out of the ignition and fingered a pack of cigarettes in his coat pocket. "Ready to party?" he asked, a sarcastic tone underlying his voice.

TK shook his head, watching his brother light up. It was a new habit. "No, but let's get it over with."

The brothers walked up to the house, the eldest blonde waving at a number of people TK didn't know. Matt's band had become increasingly popular over the years. After escaping a particularly pushy fan girl, they opened the front door and a rush of warm air and blasting music filled their senses.

"Yamato!"

A tall girl with an olive complexion immediately appeared in front of the brothers. "You made it! I was just talking about you." Her bright green eyes lit up as she noticed the younger blonde. "Is this your brother?"

Matt nodded, grinning at the nervous expression that formed across the younger boy's face. "Yep, this is Takeru. We call him TK."

The girl tossed her dark hair back playfully. "I'm Shina," she said, holding out her hand. TK took shook politely before she turned back to Matt. "What a cutie! Takes after his big brother."

Matt chuckled at the blush that covered TK's face, but his grin quickly faded as Shina grabbed his hand.

"Come on! My friends just love your band. They're dying to meet you." She threw an apologetic look at the younger boy. "I'm going to borrow your brother... catch ya later!" she called as she dragged Matt further into the house.

TK stood at the door for a moment, alone. Booming music filled his ears and groups of teens passed by him. He removed his jacket and threw it on the large pile that had already accumulated on the floor. Digging his hands into his pockets, he walked into the crowd.

* * *

The traditional architecture and paintings of the home stood out in stark contrast with the westernized teens that now were overflowing it. Popular American music blew loudly over the speakers and a few already intoxicated kids were dancing. In the midst of this, sitting on a green sofa, a boy swung around a beer carelessly, watching a mini whirlpool form in his cup. He slumped further into the couch and placed his cheek in his palm, his dark brown eyes darting around the room aimlessly. He swung the drink around again.

Swish.

The party surrounded him like a nauseating pulse in his ears. In the past, he would be chatting with his friends, recounting his winning goal in their last soccer match. Now, he was haunted by visions of the recent past. He wanted to be alone to think; he had to find a way to fix things.

Swish.

He took a slow gulp of alcohol before returning it to the spinning position in his tan hand.

Swish.

There was absolutely nothing he could do.

Swish. Swish.

"WILL YOU STOP THAT?!"

Startled from the sudden scream, Daisuke Motomiya, better known as Davis (he adopted the nickname in his English language class, despite the fact he spoke the language horrendously), jumped, causing his cup to crash to the floor and beer to splash onto his boots.

"Geez, Yolei!" he yelled back, though not with as much piercing velocity as his companion had. He made sure to work his face into a displeased sneer. "What's your problem?"

Miyako Yolei Inoue tossed her violet hair, making a face that matched his. "All you've done since we got here is play with that stupid drink! Stop being such a dud, Davis!"

"I'm not being a dud! This party sucks!"

"It only sucks because you're just sitting here like a moron!"

Yolei was beginning to think that bringing the spiky-haired boy had been a bad idea, but she didn't want to go to the party alone and Davis was really her only available choice. That is without counting the choices she didn't have the courage to ask. Besides, Davis was having a rough time ever since what she referred to as "the incident" and she had thought it would be good for him to get out and have some fun.

"At least I'm not sitting here drooling over any ass that moves!" he snarled at her.

"Like you weren't checking out that thirteen-year-old's chest two minutes ago!"

Davis glanced over at the girl standing a few feet from him and grinned. "She's at least a sophomore," he said, pretending to hold a pair of breasts.

Yolei grabbed the only thing in her reach. She whacked the throw pillow across his forehead. Unfortunately it wasn't hard enough to cause any permanent damage.

"Pervert!"

"Nerd!" Davis braced himself; positive he'd receive another assault from his equally short-tempered friend.

No blow came.

He slowly opened his eyes to see Yolei staring off in the distance at someone familiar. He smiled.

"Oh, Miyako..." he sang.

The violet haired girl kept on staring through her glasses, pursing her lips slightly at the use of her first name. For some reason Davis reserved it for times he was making fun of her. She had opted for her middle name years ago when everyone in class kept calling her Kyo after reading the kanji for her name. It wasn't that she didn't care for Miyako, but the simple solution was to go by Yolei. She had grown accustomed to it.

"You still like Ken, huh? You want me to call him over for you? I'm sure I can arrange a date," Davis taunted, leaning an elbow into her side.

Her eyes flashed suddenly and she quickly darted her attention toward Davis, shaking her head frantically. "No!"

"Hey Ichijouji!"

Davis's head immediately was buried under the throw pillow.

"Shut up!"

The only sound to answer her plea was another muffled shout of Ichijouji and uncontrollable snickering.

Yolei was so busy trying to keep Davis quiet that she didn't notice as the object of her affection made his way toward them.

"Hello Yolei."

She jumped at the sound of his voice and whipped her head in his direction, causing her hair to fly into her eyes. "Hi Ken!" she squeaked, trying to untangle her hair from her glasses.

Ken's eyes moved to the buried figure. "Davis."

From under the pillow he managed to sneak a hand around Yolei and twitch his fingers in a wave.

Realizing that she was caught in an obvious attempt to hide something, Yolei blushed madly and slowly removed the pillow from Davis's face.

A goofy grin formed on his lips. "Thanks, babe," he snorted.

With a growl, a chunk of his dark hair was clenched in her fist. "Don't call me that," she hissed. "Ever."

Ken watched the interaction between the two, trying with some difficulty not to laugh.

"Ok, ok!" Davis responded, laughing. His glance turned towards Yolei's thin legs, revealed by a short black mini-skirt. "Besides, you're more of a chick than a babe anyhow."

"YOU INSENSITIVE JERK!"

"Only stating the obvious."

It wasn't the first time Yolei had someone tease her about her 'chicken legs', but in Ken's presence, the stab at her scrawny figure stung more than usual. "What is up your ass?"

"_You!_ Dragging me places!"

Yolei growled and let loose a string of profanities, including a long speech about how ungrateful he was. Ken noticed that Davis was no longer paying attention to her, but had fixed his eyes on a figure in the crowd.

"Yolei, hold that thought," Davis interrupted. Before she could protest, he disappeared through the dancing teens.

Ken frowned as Davis made his quick retreat. His indigo eyes darted to Yolei and he instantly wished he had a reason to run away as he noticed her face tint red with anger.

"I can't _believe_ him!"

He took a seat beside her, barely suppressing a groan. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Davis ran a hand through his hair, biting his lip in anticipation. He had tried so many times to talk to her since that day, but she had always quickly retreated. This time she stopped and watched him with her clear brown eyes.

"We need to talk." He tried to sound firm, but his voice instantly quavered.

It didn't help that Hikari Yagami was so damn beautiful.

"Davis…"

"Hear me out," he said. Rather than continuing, he sighed and his gaze instinctively moved to the ground. A short period of silence passed between the two. Davis shifted uncomfortably before he finally tore his eyes from the floor and met the guilt that was clouding her gentle face.

"Kari, you know how I feel about you. And if you don't feel the same... just come out and say it, ok?"

He could see the glisten of tears before she quickly looked away.

"Davis, not here, ok?"

"Then where, Kari? When? I'm sick of waiting for you to answer me!"

"Daisuke... please?"

At the use of his real name and the overwhelming beauty of her watery eyes, he practically melted. He desperately took her hands, grasping them with his. "I need you to," he demanded. "Now."

She spoke, almost too silent to hear over the booming noise of the party. "No." Tears splashed against her cheeks. "I don't love you."

It was those words that TK stopped dead in his tracks to. His blue eyes quickly darted in the direction of the sound of Kari's pained voice. A cold shiver ran through him and he felt a fresh stab of pain penetrate his chest, noticing her hands held in _his._

Davis roughly dropped Kari's hands, his face contorting in despair, but still holding a mask of pride. "I mean nothing to you then?"

TK had to hold himself back when he heard a light sob escape from her lips. He wanted to hold her so badly.

Funny, Davis was feeling the same thing.

"Nothing."

Davis felt desperateness tug at his heart. He never gave up without a fight. "What was it then, Kari? Just something in the moment? TK wasn't there for you to snuggle with so you settled for what you could get? You knew how I felt!"

She shook her head, tears spilling from the corners of her eyes. "I'm sorry."

Davis paused, holding back the emotions that were prone to make him look weak. He refused to look weak. He was the bearer of Courage, after all. He stepped back, plastering a sneer on his face, but those weak emotions were still shining in his eyes.

"I'm not." With that he walked away, trying not to run back as he heard Kari erupt into a small fit of sobs.

He forgot he was the bearer of Friendship as well.


	2. Heartwarming Tragedy

**Innocent Games**

**Chapter Two  
Heartwarming Tragedy **

* * *

"I swear, one day I'm gonna pound him!"

Ken winced slightly. Yolei was not fun to be around when she was upset. He sometimes wondered if he should suggest anger management courses.

"He's just so... so... UGH!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Ugh?"

Yolei sighed and slumped into the couch. "I don't know how to describe it. It's like, Davis knows exactly what irritates me and instead of avoiding it he always uses it to pick fights." She looked up at Ken and bit her lip as a light blush formed across her cheeks. "Of course, I'm not much better."

"You two seem to have a typical love-hate relationship."

She snorted. "Emphasis on the hate."

Ken smiled knowingly. "You don't mean that."

She sighed, glancing in the direction where the boy in question had disappeared into the crowd. "No, I don't. He's just such an idiot sometimes."

"I agree that Davis can come across a bit foolish, but he's a better friend than anyone I know. He forgave me before anyone else gave me a chance. I never thought anybody would be able to trust me after everything," he paused, lowering his cobalt eyes, "I did."

Yolei placed her hand on his and Ken's eyes bolted up, meeting the sincerity on her face. "I trust you, Ken."

He knew this, but to hear it spoken aloud and so personally caused emotions he had kept hidden from her to resurface.

There was a moment of soft silence between the two. The blaring music and incoherent chatter surrounded them, dull against the beating of their own hearts.

Ken's palms sweat in anticipation. He looked away, building up the courage to tell her the strange feeling that was rising through his chest and down his fingers that twitched with the urge to touch her.

He spoke softly, "Yolei, I-"

"Oh no."

Ken looked up to her only to see her staring elsewhere. He blinked and felt something in his chest quickly plummet to where his intestines should have been. "What?"

"He blew it," she grumbled.

Ken turned his head in time to see Davis walk away from Kari, clearly distressed. Not soon after, Kari fled in the opposite direction, tears falling down her delicate face. In a sudden reoccurrence of old emotions, Ken felt the urge to chase after her.

Yolei snarled. "Figures."

His gaze fell upon the violet-haired girl, but his thoughts about the dilemma remained silent. He was afraid to speak after coming so close to revealing the truth and after feeling a return of his fleeting adoration for the child of Light. The two odd feelings would surely mix within his speech and he was smart enough to know when to keep his mouth shut.

Yolei shifted, moving herself closer to Ken in order to get a better look at the mini-drama that was enfolding in her friends' lives. Her bare thigh pressed against his leg. He didn't protest.

As she stared for a moment longer, her eyes widened. "Oh no, no, no!"

Ken looked toward the crowd. "What is it?"

"TK!"

Sure enough, Ken could see the blonde figure standing only feet away from Davis, fists clenched. Ken took a deep breath, the ridiculous male hormones leaving him as he noticed that his best friend might be in trouble.

"You don't suppose he heard?" he asked, glancing at Yolei.

She nodded; her golden brown eyes wide under wire-rimmed glasses. "Bingo."

* * *

"Davis."

The soft familiarity of the voice caused his eyes to dart upwards; dark brown met a piercing blue. His brows furrowed.

"Listen, TS. I don't want any of your crap right now. I'm sorry already, ok?"

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to." TK motioned to the retreating figure of Kari.

For a moment, Davis fixated on the figure of the retreating girl. He turned away and stared hard at TK, balling up his fists. "Don't tell me what to do."

"You don't even care enough about her to say you're sorry?"

A flash of pain flickered across his eyes before a spark of anger settled into them and his fist flew at TK's chin. The blonde stumbled backwards holding a hand to his face and Davis's tan hands grabbed at TK's shirt collar as he rammed him against a wall.

The action caused a swarm of kids to gather around the two. A voice screamed "FIGHT!" and suddenly the entire party had completely surrounded the pair within a three second time span.

Red, anger, and adrenaline; when two boys are involved in a fight that is all their minds register, that, and the face of their opponent. Nothing else matters, they just want to see that same shade of red coming out of their adversary's nose.

All that went through TK's mind was to get out of the hold that Davis had him in. With a quick swipe of his right leg, he managed to knock Davis's feet from underneath him, causing him to come crashing to the floor. In an instant, TK had scrambled on top of Davis, pinning him down and throwing a hard punch into his nose.

Davis cried out and his nose instantly began to bleed. "You son of a-" He was cut off as TK threw another punch, busting a lip.

TK let up just enough for Davis to free his hand and throw it into the blonde's cheekbone. He was sent backwards and Davis grabbed his shoulders, forcing him to the floor. Now Davis had the advantage. He swung his hand back only for two small arms to slip under his, desperately trying to pull him off.

"Davis, stop!" The scared voice of Yolei caused him to falter for a moment. His hand was still able to throw a punch and adrenaline was rushing through his body at a speed higher than his heart rate.

"Let go!" Davis hollered. His hand balled up once again, but (with strength that surely wasn't Yolei's) he was slowly being yanked away from his opponent. He struggled recklessly to get back at TK.

"Calm down, Davis. This isn't solving anything!" Ken shouted as he pulled Davis behind him, separating the two with his body.

TK wiped the blood from his face and stood up, ready to charge.

Yolei violently yanked Davis's arm so he was facing her. "What do you think you're doing?"

Davis turned back to the blonde, glaring at him with defiance and grinding his teeth. Ken moved quickly over to TK, who was stepping toward Davis, and pushed him back a bit.

Yolei grabbed Davis's injured chin, digging her nails into it, causing him to wince and face her again. "Daisuke!"

His eyes were coated with anger.

"Stop being an idiot! It's over. Just stop!"

As Ken slowly coaxed TK to take a walk with him, the crowd dispersed satisfied with the show.

Davis furiously wiped the blood from his mouth, smearing the back of his hand with red.

"Come on," Yolei's voice was soft, but still heated. "Let's get you cleaned up."

* * *

It was awkward walking with the rival of his best friend, the same boy who injured his pride when he was still the Kaiser. But that was a long time ago. They were on the same side now. Ken and TK had never grown close. There wasn't any animosity between them, but Ken couldn't help but feel uncomfortable with the blonde.

TK plopped down on the front step, running his hands through his ruffled hair. He let out a long sigh and Ken looked down at him for a moment before the silence was finally broken.

"I'm sorry, Ken."

"What for?"

"For," TK breathed in, still shaking from the fight. His bright blue eyes flickered up to meet Ken's darker ones. "For a lot of things." His eyes looked away and into the distance; he seemed to be watching a couple kissing in the driveway.

Ken looked at the couple too.

"I'm the one who should be sorry, TK."

Neither one met glances. Neither one spoke. The couple broke apart and, holding hands, passed by them, entering the house.

TK spoke softly, so that Ken could hardly hear. "But you've changed."

* * *

Yolei slowly guided Davis into the bathroom, holding his elbow to give him support as he clenched his bleeding nose. He sat down clumsily on the toilet seat as she closed the door behind them. She grabbed a box of tissues and shoved a few fluffy sheets in his bloodied hand.

"Here, use this," she stated shortly before searching the medicine cabinet.

Davis did as he was told and held the tissues to his nose, groaning in annoyance. "I can take care of myself, Yolei."

She rolled her eyes, pulled out some necessary supplies and plopped herself down in front of him. She carefully dabbed a cotton ball in a bottle of peroxide and wiped at a cut beside his swelling eye. "He really got you good, huh?"

"I could've taken him!" Davis exclaimed as he lifted his chin up with pride and flexed his muscles. A tissue dangled out of his nose.

She smiled softly as she lifted her thumb to his busted lip, gingerly wiping away the blood.

Davis's mouth parted slightly and he slowly lowered his arms to his sides, focusing on the violet-haired girl in front of him. She seemed concerned; her thumb softly lingered against his lip as she surveyed the damage. He felt guilty for giving her such a hard time earlier. Ever since the incident with Kari, she had been there (usually alongside of Ken) to help him through it.

Their eyes met and she blushed, removing her thumb.

"Ya know, I just don't understand you," Davis declared, crossing his arms across his chest.

Her eyebrows creased in confusion.

"One minute you're PMSing beyond belief," he gave an amused smirk as her expression quickly turned to a scowl, "and the next you're treatin' me like I'm your best friend."

Yolei frowned and stood up, tossing his spiky hair. She pressed a washcloth against his eye until he reached up to hold it himself and for a moment her hand was caught beneath his. She awkwardly pulled her fingers out from beneath his palm.

"That's because you are," she whispered, brushing her hand against her skirt.

Davis looked up at her, surprise in his uncovered eye.

"Jerk." With a wink, she opened the door and walked away.

* * *

The heart is a funny thing. There is that light, airy feeling that simply makes you smile; the strong rapid beating of passion, causing desires to seem so far from your reach; and the heavy, sick feeling that reaches down to your stomach and up to your lips, causing them to tremble as overwhelming tears flood your vision.

We live for it. We die for it.

We'll survive for it.

Love stories don't always end as a heartwarming tragedy. Sometimes we just live on.


	3. Tortured Minds

**Innocent Games**

**Chapter Three  
Tortured Minds**

* * *

Was it destined to be like this? Broken hearts and betrayal dragged and sucked into the timeless tragedy of love and lust.

Tears brimmed her light eyes. She was so confused.

"Hikari?"

Her gaze fluttered upward. Dark sloppy brown hair and chocolate eyes looked down on her with concern.

"Tai..."

Her brother plopped down beside her on the steps that led to the backyard. He watched her for a moment, pure concern written on his tan face. His little sister's heart was broken.

"You ok, Kari?"

"No."

Within a moment she was clutching his shirt, his warm arms placed around her, soaking up her tears. And Tai held onto her, knowing what it was like to hurt.

* * *

Matt smiled slightly as his fingers ran across the strings of an acoustic. He could hear a few simultaneous sighs from the fleet of girls who had gathered around him. It was funny. The very thing that helped him to forget a horde of fans were around him seemed to be the one thing that attracted them... his music.

At the request of Shina, he was playing a song that had yet to be performed in concert.

He began to strum the first few chords, his cool voice whisking the song away from there, singing about love in such a way that no one could understand what he was really feeling. It was enough to make the girls swoon. If his simple breathing wasn't enough, that is.

He closed his eyes, fingers moving over the strings instinctually. Soon the crowd faded away and it was only him, the guitar, and the emotions that shed into the music. He was lost in his own world.

It only caused the girls to love him more.

His piercing blue eyes slowly opened as the last chord faded into the noise of the party. He was greeted back to the real world by the meaningless compliments and batting lashes of the females who surrounded him. He nodded and gazed into the distance, fiddling with the perfectly tuned guitar.

That's when his eyes met her dark crimson pools. One arm hung to her side, while her small hand clung to it, rubbing out the chill that he was sure his own eyes must have given her. A sad smile formed on her lips and she turned around, walking away.

Sora Takenouchi left him.

It wasn't the first time.

He lowered his gaze and passed his fingers over the strings of the guitar. This time he didn't even care as Shina put a hand on his thigh.

He could take the torture.

* * *

Yolei tossed her lavender hair over her shoulder as she walked down the hallway, clumsily stumbling over her heels as she moved. She inwardly cursed her choice of wardrobe. Mimi had stopped by the night before to dress her for the occasion in response to her complaints about going unnoticed. The older girl claimed she needed to "dress to impress." The result was a plunging neckline and a skirt that barely covered her backside.

She received a drunken smack on the ass and, though she glared at the culprit, she felt her self-esteem rise slightly. At least it looked good to someone.

It wasn't long before she spotted the contrast blonde and indigo pair sitting glumly on the front steps, no words spoken between them. She grabbed her brown cardigan from the pile of coats by the door and shrugged it on before stepping outside. She greeted them with a large grin, still feeling quite sure of herself.

"Why so down, boys? It's a party!"

The two turned around. TK's bruised face cracked with a soft smile while Ken stared blankly at her. Yolei kneeled next to him to whisper in his ear. Her warm breath brushed his neck and her cleavage was rather visible from this angle. He immediately reddened.

"Ken, could you talk to Davis? I think he needs a friend." Yolei paused, noticing the color on his cheeks. She pulled her cardigan more tightly around her and stood, embarrassed, though part of her was delighted she had caught him staring.

"Of course," Ken said shakily, trying to pull himself together. He stood and immediately departed, his dark hair creating a barrier over his pale features.

As he disappeared, Yolei placed her hands on her hips, trying unsuccessfully to look angry with the tall blonde. She was still thrilled with Ken's infatuation. "What happened?"

TK shook his head. "I don't know." He winced, touching his swollen cheekbone.

Her angry disposition quickly melted. "You still love her, don't you?"

"I never stopped. I've always loved her. I just never thought she'd-" TK looked away, his bruised fist clenching.

Yolei sighed. "Neither did I."

* * *

The light tap on the bathroom door pounded heavily in Davis's ears.

"Davis?" Ken's soft voice calmed his nerves.

"Co-" he coughed, clearing his throat. "Come in."

Ken slowly opened the door to look down upon his best friend who had moved to the bathroom floor. His back was pressed firmly against the tiled wall. A dark bruise was forming around his left eye. His lip was swollen and he had to keep wiping away blood that poured from his nose. He was holding a picture, barley able to look at it. It was one of him and Kari that had been taken before everything. They were happily posing; Davis blushed goofily as Kari placed an elbow on his head. He crumpled it in his hand and lifted his soft chocolate eyes to meet Ken's cold blue ones.

"Don't look at me like that."

Ken blinked. "Like what?"

Davis lifted a fresh tissue to his nose. "Like you're going to say 'I told you so.' I hate that."

Ken's lips curled into a half-smile. "Actually, I was going to say 'You know better.'"

"Obviously I don't, so you better tell me," Davis groaned, running his hands into his wild hair.

Ken looked seriously at his friend. "You've got to let her go."

"I don't know how."

With that, he chucked the picture into the trash.

* * *

Koushiro Izumi busily typed away at his computer, beads of sweat trickling down his forehead.

"This isn't right," he murmured. He turned to look at Tentomon who was sleeping peacefully at the foot of his bed. Then he returned to his computer screen. His program was entirely screwed. He punched in a few more keys and tried again.

ERROR

An angry sigh. "This is preposterous." He clicked the mouse.

Nothing.

"Now what?"

Click.

Click. Click... click, click, click.

"Great. Absolutely wonderful," he groaned. Coming to the conclusion that his work was lost, he reached to turn off the power.

The screen went black.

He stared, puzzled, his finger still inches from the power button.

Before he could react, a clawed hand reached out of the screen and grabbed his.

"He's only the first…."

Tentomon didn't even notice the voice hissing as the computer turned off.


	4. The Incident: A Flashback

**Innocent Games**

**Chapter 4**  
**The Incident – A Flashback**

* * *

TK had been gone for three months.

Kari sighed heavily, shivering from the light rain. Her bare arms were rising with goose bumps as cold raindrops slid down her skin. She was waiting under the roof's ledge in front of Odaiba High School for Davis to emerge from the locker room. They always walked home together; mostly because their apartment complexes were barely a block apart, but also because of Davis's endless persistence.

She rubbed the chill from her arms. Despite the overhang, wind swept the rain against her. Kids poured from the doors, making it hard for her to tell if Davis had emerged from gym class or not. As she waited, she wondered exactly what her boyfriend was up to. TK had moved in with his grandfather in France for the semester to study abroad. Phone calls were too expensive so they had kept in touch via email. The amount she found in her inbox had lessened over the past few weeks. She shuddered, wishing he were there to keep her warm.

Suddenly, as if on cue with her thoughts, a pair of hands grabbed her shoulders.

She jumped, startled, and turned around to face a grinning Davis.

"I didn't scare ya, did I?" he joked. His burgundy hair was limp from a recent shower, clinging to his forehead, and the goggles he wore with pride were strung around his neck. He had stuffed his uniform's jacket and tie (which he hardly ever wore properly) into his backpack and his white dress shirt was untucked and only partially buttoned.

After regaining her composure, Kari rolled her eyes playfully and began to walk from the building. Davis followed suit and shook his head like a wet dog, flinging water into her face.

"Davis!" she scolded, wiping the added moisture from her eyes. She noticed that his hair smelled like flowers and smiled, suppressing a giggle. She never pictured Davis as a flowery kind of guy.

He grinned. "If you want, I can make it up to you."

"How?"

"How 'bout dinner?"

Kari turned around sharply only to see a wide smile spread across his face. She frowned. "How 'bout no."

His expression turned downcast. "It was worth a shot."

They walked a little further.

"A movie?"

"No."

Silence.

"A concert?"

"Davis..."

"The mall?"

Kari turned to face him. "Davis, I'm sorry, but you know I-" she stopped mid-sentence when she noticed soft laughter escaping his lips.

She blinked. "What?"

The corner of his mouth turned up in a sloppy smile. "Nothing. TC just better know how lucky he is to have you."

"TK."

"I know."

They continued to walk in silence. Davis yanked at the goggles around his neck, stretching the elastic to place them on his head. He watched Kari out of the corner of his eye before taking them off all together.

"Hey Kari! Lemme try something," he said, moving in her path.

Before she could protest, he snapped the goggles around her head, ruffling her hair in the process. He took a step back, grinning at the bewildered girl.

"What are you doing?" Kari asked, reaching to pull off the goggles.

Davis grabbed her hands before she could. "Aw, come on! I've wanted to see how you looked in those forever! Keep them on."

She stopped and posed, smiling a bit. "How do I look?"

He laughed. "Like your brother, with less hair."

Kari crossed her arms, a pout forming on her lips. "I do not."

"No, you look cute. Cuter than me even!"

"You are so full of yourself."

Davis resumed walking, Kari by his side. "Nothin' wrong with a little bit of confidence."

"There's a difference between confidence and cockiness."

His expression turned solemn. "Do you really think I'm cocky?"

"And arrogant. Yes."

"Oh."

An awkward silence fell between the two. Kari watched Davis's pained face, his eyes somber and so unlike his usually cheerful disposition. A wave of guilt filled her chest.

"Davis, I'm sor-"

"It's ok, Kari." He smiled widely once again, a glimmer replacing his dark expression. "You _do _think I'm cute though, right?"

She returned the smile, rolling her eyes at his quick change in attitude. He was never one to stay upset for long. "I told you once, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but we're in high school now; it could've changed."

"Well, you're still cute," she said, blushing. In all honesty, he was cute. But not like TK. His wild burgundy hair and tan complexion, chocolate eyes and bruises he had acquired from soccer made him almost ruggedly handsome.

He pumped his fist in the air. "Yes!"

A bright flash of lightning and clap of thunder filled the pair's ears.

"We better get going," Kari suggested, rubbing the chill from her arms.

In response to her comment, a sheet of rain began to form in the distance. Davis caught glance of it and grabbed her hand, pulling her into a run. "It's trying to race us!" he yelled, laughing. "Come on!"

Kari jogged beside him, squealing in mock terror as they tried to outrun the downpour. Nevertheless, nature caught up to them. The rain was so heavy it was hard to see where they were going.

Kari's heart was beating rapidly between the running and the sheer exhilaration that their game had caused her. Her smile never faded until she felt Davis's hand slip from hers.

Another clap of thunder filled the air. She couldn't see him. "Davis!"

She heard his laughter and felt his fingers touch her side, searching for her hand again. "We're just outside my place! We must've passed yours!"

Kari gave him her hand and laughed as Davis pulled her into the shelter of the complex roof. She came to a sudden stop as she bumped into his chest, finally able to see him clearly in their temporary shelter. His hair was limp and dripping and his shirt was clinging to him, almost transparent from the rain, showing off the defined muscles in his arms and chest. Her own uniform tightly wrapped around her and her light hair hung damply in her face.

They were both giggling from their childishness, seemingly oblivious of each other's appearances.

They were so close.

Davis's warm breath made her want to be closer.

The giggles ceased and his heart was pounding.

The rain poured heavily over the edge of the roof and yet he could still make out the sound of her breathing. As they met, Kari clutched tightly to his shirt, sending waves of shivers through his body. She could taste the rain on his lips.

Davis stood there in shock, unresponsive. This was everything he wanted closer than he dreamed was possible, but his conscience kept him from giving in.

Until her tongue ran across his bottom lip.

He gathered her small body into his arms, pulling her closer. She tasted so wonderful; felt so good. He wanted her so badly. Ironically, not as much as she wanted him; she wanted his charisma, his honesty, spontaneity, diligence, and his passion. Her fingers slid beneath his shirt, touching his lower back.

A soft moan escaped him and he pulled her closer as he stepped back, stumbling clumsily to his apartment door. Her lips moved from his and she spread her kisses to his cheek and jaw, lingering against his neck. Her hips pressed against his involuntarily.

It was when she heard the click of the unlocking door and felt his warm hand slide beneath her top that the reality of the situation hit her. She stopped, pulling back from him instantly. Her hands flew to her face, tears brimming her eyelids. "Oh God..."

Davis's breathing began to slow as he realized the reason for her withdrawal. His heart and hormones were desperate to keep the thoughts from her mind, desperate to keep her from running away, desperate to keep her.

He took a step forward. "Kari..."

Tears crashed against the raindrops on her face. "Oh, Davis... what are we… what am I doing?!"

The hormones began to subside and Davis wanted nothing more than to comfort her, talk it over and convince her that this wasn't a mistake.

"Kari, please... please don't go."

His plea sounded panicked, so submissive and opposite of his previous actions.

She almost gave in.

Then she ran.

Davis shouted desperately, "I love you!"

Kari didn't turn back.

* * *

Tai Yagami was sprawled on his couch, flipping through channels when his sister came bursting through the door, her sweet disposition twisted into a crooked face of guilt and tears. Strangest of all, however, was that around her head were the goggles he had given to Davis.

Before he could react, she ran into their room. He could hear her sobbing and the tones of the phone dialing a long-distance number.

She was calling TK.


	5. Guilt Trips and Alcohol

**Innocent Games**

**Chapter Five  
Guilt Trips and Alcohol**

* * *

She had no idea why she was there. Her scarlet eyes narrowed slightly as she watched yet another boy flirt with her pink-clad friend.

Perhaps it was because she was dragged there; Mimi was visiting from America and the bearer of Sincerity couldn't stand missing a party. Or maybe what Mimi said was true; she just needed to get out of the house.

Or perhaps it was because, somehow, she knew she would see him again.

Sora sighed, averting her attention to her shoes. "I'm so pathetic."

It had been two weeks since she had broke it off with Matt. Her emotions were a wreck from the distance that had grown between them. She could remember the ice that had formed in his blue eyes when she said it was over. The nonchalant shrug and fake smile he gave her seemed so wrong. She knew the truth; he was in pain.

It was eating her away. She wanted to tell him she didn't mean it, that they should give it another try. Just moments ago, as she watched Matt play the chords to a song he had written her, she wanted to take him in her arms. The guilt was too much to bear.

Still, she turned away.

She wrung her hands together, feeling a draft emerge from the back door as a few people made their way inside. She turned back to Mimi's escapades. Her chestnut hair bounced perfectly against her shoulders as she giggled at a joke. It didn't seem like she'd be giving up the male attention she had accumulated anytime soon.

Sora took a seat on the floor, trying to ignore the couple making out on the couch she leaned her back against. She hated these types of parties. She chewed on her fingernails, trying to occupy the time and keep her eyes averted from the disturbingly graphic scene taking place behind her.

"Nervous?"

The soft masculine voice caused Sora to quickly pull her fingers from her mouth. A light blush formed on her cheeks as she looked up to a large bush of hair and a sloppy smile.

"Tai!" she exclaimed, pushing herself off the ground. "No. I just-" She avoided his gaze. Kari was standing just behind him, tearstains on her cheeks. "Kari, are you ok?"

Kari nodded and forced a smile. Before Sora could question her further, a classmate grabbed hold of Kari's arm and began dragging her off, talking excitedly. She gave them an apologetic wave as she allowed herself to be pulled across the room.

Sora watched Kari for a moment before turning towards Tai. "What happened?"

He sighed and scratched the back of his head. "She had a run in with Davis."

Sora nodded knowingly before shifting her feet as she pondered what to say next. For some reason her breakup with Matt made her interactions with Tai seem awkward. She couldn't place how the two were connected.

"So, how are you doing, Sora?"

She knew that was coming. She glanced at her chewed fingernails. "I'm fine."

Calloused fingers fell gently against her arm. "Sora…"

She looked up, taking in a sharp breath at his touch. His dark eyes had moved slightly closer to hers.

"Matt told me," Tai said softly, "I'm actually surprised I heard it from him first."

Sora nodded. She should have figured that much. Tai and Matt's friendship remained just as strong as ever, despite her relationship with the blonde. She was still amazed at Tai's maturity through it all. Then again, maybe there wasn't anything for him to be upset about. Maybe she had imagined the hurt in his voice the day she had chosen Matt.

She felt a surge of disappointment flood her chest. Tai never fought for her. Instead, he practically pushed her through the door at his best friend. She had been so afraid of hurting him, but he never seemed hurt. The same exuberant grin still formed on his face, the same teasing, soccer playing, and arrogance. It was quite possible he had never loved her at all.

"Sora?"

His voice ripped her from her thoughts.

"Tai, I'm so confused."

He nodded and placed a brotherly arm around her shoulders. "Let's grab a drink and you can tell me everything."

Sora nodded and followed him to the kitchen. She was glad he was there, but somewhere inside she knew some things would have to be left unsaid.

* * *

Davis grumpily emerged from the bathroom and yanked a tissue from his nose as he scuffed down the hallway, Ken following cautiously behind.

"I knew I shouldn't have listened to Yolei. This party blows," he grumbled, kicking an empty beer can with his foot.

Ken didn't respond. Any response to Davis in a fit of rage would only result in more rage.

Just as the pair reached the kitchen, Davis halted at the sounds of a chugging contest. Ken gave him a weary look before his suspicions were confirmed.

"I need a drink."

With that, the young leader of the chosen children pushed his way through the hordes of teens gathered around a rather large keg.

A new glass was filled past the rim, the foam cleansing tan hands from the memories of touch they longed to hold onto. If he couldn't let go, he'd forget.

* * *

"Um, Yolei… I don't know if we should do this."

"Nobody's watching. Come on, TK, it'll help you relax," Yolei's sultry voice replied.

She moved her fingers slowly before she reached her destination.

With a quick movement, she popped in an American dance CD into the house stereo and turned up the volume, before hopping away from it gleefully, unnoticed by the crowds around her. Suddenly a deafeningly familiar song began to play and TK hid his face as a number of groans filled the room and someone loudly shouted, "Shut that shit off!"

Ignoring the room's protests and even more exuberant ones from the bearer of Hope, Yolei dragged him to the middle of the living room before proceeding to do the hand motions to the Macarena.

TK simply stood there, red.

A few more accepting teens had joined them and TK had finally faced the fact that at this point he looked more idiotic standing there than he would dancing. With a slight glare at Yolei, he joined the small crowd of dancing girls (one or two of them drunk) and boys (all of them drunk) in dancing the Macarena.

By the time a few crazy songs had passed, the blonde had loosened up enough to twirl Yolei around a few times.

The violet haired girl gazed up at him with a small smile. TK did, believe it or not, enjoy dancing. He had always been one of the first ones on the floor at their high school, twirling Kari into dips that would leave her breathless.

Yolei momentarily thought of the outgoing, but hot-tempered Davis, who barely knew how to put his hands on a girl without screwing things up, and of Ken, who was too shy to place a toe on the dance floor. She wondered how Kari could have ever let TK go.

She squeezed him gently and the look in his eyes showed her that he understood. He deserved to be happy, and even if that meant taking Kari back, she was behind him every step of the way.

* * *

After polishing off more cups than Ken could keep count off, Davis had decided that beer wasn't strong enough and had somehow come across a stash of sake. Ignoring the slight burning in his throat, he chugged over half the bottle (at the encouragement of a group of cheering teens) and then he was gone.

Contrary to what one might believe about Davis, he was not an angry drunk; rather, he was either extraordinarily giddy or introspective at worst. This time it was a strange combination of both.

Finishing off the last of the bottle, he stumbled into Ken's chair and practically sat on the young genius' lap, giggling.

"Ya know, Ken," he said, slurring slightly, "You got nice hair."

Ken blushed, trying to ignore the fingers pointing in their direction and the following laughter. "Thanks."

"I'm seerous, if I le' mine go, it'd be all o'er the place," he stated.

Ken scooted further back in his chair as Davis turned to face him. The strong scent of alcohol pierced his nostrils. He gave a relieved sigh as the intoxicated boy pushed himself up and slid to the floor on his knees. "Are you ok, Davis?"

He waved him off loosely. "I'm fine," he said sternly, attempting to stand.

It happened in slow motion, yet so fast that there was nothing Ken could do to stop it. In Davis's struggle to stand, he had stumbled face-first into Ken's lap.

The ex-Kaiser could do nothing but stiffen as his face lit up like he had swallowed a bottle of hot sauce. Davis, on the other hand, made no attempt to get up and began laughing hysterically against Ken's thighs.

"What the hell?"

The stunned voice of Tai Yagami caused Ken to jump up so violently that Davis fell forcefully backward, knocking into a girl's leg.

Tai stared in bewilderment at Ken before turning to his protégé. "Whoa, whoa… ok, Ken I could see this coming from, but Davis? Dude! I thought you liked my sister!"

Just behind Tai, Sora pressed her hand against her forehead in embarrassment.

Davis, unaware of the Yagami's comment, had noticed that the girl whose leg he bumped into was wearing a skirt. His vantage point caused him to erupt into a new fit of giggles before she kicked him in the side, storming off.

"Ow…"

"Davis is a little drunk," Ken explained, trying to force the blush from his cheeks.

"I resen' that," Davis retorted as he pushed himself from the ground, receiving a helping hand from Sora.

Tai raised his eyebrow at Ken, who avoided eye contact. Then he noticed a small trickle of blood drip from Davis's nose. "What the hell happened to you?"

Davis was leaning heavily against Sora, trying hard to look sober. "I gotin a fight. Ya shood see da oder guy."

"He ran into TK," Ken supplied.

"Dun worry," Davis slurred, waving a hand in the air. "I didn' kill 'im." He lost his balance and Sora had to hold under his arm to keep him steady.

"Easy, Davis." While he was just barely Sora's height, his muscle weight still made it difficult for her to keep him standing upright. As Tai's hands were filled with their drinks, she gestured to Ken to help her carry him.

The two helped the drunken teen to an empty loveseat where Sora settled down beside him.

Davis was laughing about how dizzy he felt when he noticed Kari across the room. His laughter ceased abruptly and he fell back against Sora's shoulder so he could gaze intently at the ceiling. He sighed heavily as Sora pushed a piece of hair from his forehead.

"You know 'bout love, Sora," he said softly, his voice sounding strangely sober. "Why's it gotta hurt so bad?"

Sora felt her chest tighten. "I don't know that much, Davis." With her answer she couldn't help but notice Tai's eyes meet hers and the feeling of guilt that caused her to look away.


	6. Reunions

**Innocent Games**

**Chapter Six  
Reunions**

* * *

"Koushiro?"

The door creaked open cautiously.

"I brought you some di-" Mrs. Izumi looked around the empty room, stunned. "Koushiro?" she called, worry filling her voice. He had been there just moments earlier.

The mechanical bug-like digimon was snoring softly on the foot of her son's bed, unaware of the absence of his partner.

That is until, "Tento!"

Tentomon let out a stifled yelp before his large green eyes focused on Mrs. Izumi's worried form. "Izumi-san! You startled me!"

She set a tray of food on the desk before wringing her hands together nervously. "Tento, where's Koushiro? I didn't see him leave."

"You mean he's not here?" Tentomon opened his wings and fluttered around the room.

Mrs. Izumi sighed before settling into Izzy's seat by the desk, absently staring into the computer screen. "It's not like him to disappear like this. Especially without you."

Tentomon, concluding his search of the room, returned to the bed. "Don't worry, I'm sure Izzy's just fine," he reassured.

Before Mrs. Izumi could respond, a flash of light flickered across the monitor. Both she and Tentomon stared at the black screen in amazement, wondering if their eyes had deceived them.

Suddenly loud static poured from the computer's speakers. The screen began flashing rapidly, causing a bright light to fill the room. Mrs. Izumi jumped up and backed away, her eyes wide.

That's when they heard the whispers.

"The creation will create through the creator."

"Okaasan…"

The computer screen went black and the static ceased, but the strained sound of the second voice replayed in Mrs. Izumi's mind.

"KOUSHIRO!"

* * *

Joe could've kicked himself. He felt awkward enough at parties, let alone a high school one. Why did he let Tai talk him into this? As a college student, he purposefully avoided the drunken social idiocies in the dorms, but now he was subjecting himself to a houseful of underage alcoholics.

He remembered, of course, as he approached the front door (carefully avoiding stepping on some giggling girls on the walkway) exactly why he was there.

Tai had let it slip (accidentally on purpose) that Mimi would be there.

Joe had tried to tell himself that it was stupid. What would he say when he saw her? _I missed you… I love you_? The thought made him feel nauseous.

As if on cue, he caught sight of someone puking in the grass.

_Great… _

With shaky hands he opened the door, revealing a crowd full of dancing teens. He took a deep breath and stepped inside.

He was going to do this. Even if he didn't know what this was yet.

* * *

Kari felt her head nod mechanically as her friend rambled on about a hot guy she had just met. Usually she wasn't rude, but she couldn't help but let her eyes wander around the room as thoughts flooded her mind.

Who had she become?

She felt darkness emit from her pores, casting a shadow that spread and lingered beneath her eyes. It seemed to breathe around her, like her very life source was caught inside.

Wasn't she the child of Light?

A glance across the living room made the darkness pulse. Davis. She could see the glint of water against his eyelashes.

"…and he actually looked at me, I mean I think he -Kari? Are you even listening to me?"

Kari turned back to her friend. "I'm sorry," she said, softly. "I need to get out of here."

Before her friend could respond, she was off, the image of Davis's watery eyes burning in her mind.

* * *

_"Takeru, téléphone!" _

_TK pushed his books aside, thankful for the interruption. Learning French sucked._

_"Thanks, Papi," he said, reaching for the phone._

_"Non," his grandfather replied, holding the phone out of the teen's reach. "En français." He had been adamant that while TK was schooling in France he would speak French and only French. It was the only way to learn, he had said._

_"Merci, Papi," TK corrected himself. He was rewarded the phone. He looked at his grandfather expectantly, waiting for privacy, only to be given a harsh look._

_He sighed. "C'est Takeru," he said into the receiver. With that, his grandpa gave him a proud look and left him alone with his phone call._

_"TK…"_

_The blonde's annoyance immediately faded at the sound of Kari's voice._

_"Kari?" A bright grin grew across his face. "Wow, you have no idea how good it is to hear your voice."_

_"Takeru." This time he could tell she was upset._

_"Kari, what's wrong?"_

_There was a long pause before he noticed that she was crying._

_"What happened? Is it Tai?"_

_"No," she choked. "Oh, TK, I'm so sorry! I'm sorry!"_

_TK's knuckles turned white as he clenched the phone. "Kari, it's ok," he soothed._

_"No, it's not!" _

_Now he was really worried. "Just tell me what happen-"_

_Her voice cut him off with words he'd never thought she'd say. "I kissed him."_

_"What?" He felt sick. This had to be a dream; maybe he had heard her wrong._

_"I kissed him, TK," she sobbed. _

_A strange pain began to form in his jaw. He blinked rapidly, letting the words soak in. As he opened his mouth to speak, he felt his throat tighten._

_"Who?" It was barely a whisper._

_"Davis."_

_There was a long period of silence before he found his voice. This time it was filled with desperation._

_"Do you love him?"_

_Kari let out a large sob. "I'm so sorry…"_

_Every ounce of hope TK had held vanished with those words. "I… I have to go, Kari."_

_"No, TK, please don't go!"_

_He felt his fingers slowly loosen around the telephone. "I'm sorry," he said, slowly. And he was, even though he knew he shouldn't be._

_Just as he pulled the phone away from his ear, he heard her shout, "I love you!"_

_It took all his strength to push the button that cut her voice off for good. He sunk into an armchair, the phone dangling loosely from his hand. After a moment, the phone fell to the floor and he thread his hands through his blonde hair, finally allowing drops to fall from his cerulean pools._

* * *

The dance music continued, the bass drumming in his ears. TK gave a quick signal to Yolei that he was going to grab them some drinks. She gave him the victory sign and continued dancing with the large crowd that had formed.

The party was becoming overcrowded. He found himself rubbing people shoulder to shoulder as he weaved his way toward the kitchen. The temperature had risen from all the body heat and he was forced to wipe away the sweat that was beading up on his forehead.

Just as he had moved his sleeve to his brow, he felt something bump into his chest.

"Sorry," he heard a soft apologetic voice choke.

He froze as the figure moved on.

"Kari?"

They both turned around, blue eyes meeting brown.

His breath caught in his throat. There was a look in her eyes, so deep and sad, that caused her to look more beautiful than ever.

They stood there, the crowd moving like a sea around them.

He watched as a single tear rolled down her cheek and suddenly she was against his chest, shaking with sobs. Despite the betrayal he felt, he couldn't help but wrap his arms around her.

* * *

In TK's absence, Yolei had suddenly accumulated more male attention than she cared for (believe it or not). Her two new dance partners were cute, yes, but also fairly drunk, stumbling sloppily into her on more than one occasion.

When she felt a hand press against her chest, she couldn't be more thankful for the spot of blue hair she noticed in the distance.

"Joe!" she yelled; her voice barely made a noise above the drumbeats now pounding from a techno song.

He looked utterly lost, standing tall above the teens grinding on the dance floor.

She began pushing herself from between the two drunken boys.

"Where ya goin', baby?" asked the chest-presser.

"My boyfriend's here," she lied, pointing to Joe, who had yet to notice her.

"That guy's your boyfriend?" asked the other as Joe began to walk in the opposite direction.

Yolei nodded fiercely before finally escaping their grasp. She grabbed her cardigan sweater from the chair she had left it dangling over, wishing she wasn't too warm to cover herself. "Joe!" she yelled again, noticing their suspicious eyes. He halted and began looking around for the source of his name.

"Joe!" She waved her hand in the air.

He finally turned in her direction. "Yolei!" he said, smiling nervously.

Yolei glanced behind her. The two boys were still watching. Without warning, she slipped her hand into his.

A large blush formed on his cheeks. "What are you-"

She stood on her tiptoes, whispering in his ear, "Just play along."

If her gesture before made him nervous, the soft kiss she planted on his cheek practically made him faint. "Ok," he said, gulping.

Yolei turned back to the two boys and gave them a wave. She began tugging Joe into the next room. Once they were out of sight, she released his hand with a grateful sigh.

"Thanks, Joe. You're my savior," she said, taking off her glasses and wiping them with her shirt.

The blush began to fade. "No problem," he replied, embarrassed.

She returned her glasses to her face. "So, what are you doing here?"

The blush returned, full force. "Tai told me Mimi was back in town."

"Oh, I see," she said, smiling widely, a knowing tone in her voice.

"Just to say hi," he clarified, even though it was a lie. "Have you seen her?"

"No, I haven't."

Joe looked distracted, more fidgety than usual. "Well, it was good seeing you, Yolei," he said. "If you see her, could you… well, just let me know if you do."

With that he walked off, leaving her alone.

* * *

Mimi Tachikawa was truly a woman who did not sweat. She glowed.

She waved her hands in front of her face, fanning herself. "Wow, is it hot in here?"

The boys who had been surrounding her stood simultaneously.

"I'll get you some water, Mimi!" one said, running off before the others could open their mouths.

"Actually, I think I just need to step outside for a second," she said, standing up. Before the two remaining boys could offer to accompany her, she was already headed out the back door.

The cool autumn breeze made her chestnut hair bounce loosely against her shoulders. The fresh air suddenly filled with a puff of smoke and she looked at the culprit, a ready glare for the one who was ruining her moment of peace.

Her eyes widened in surprise as she noticed the blonde sitting on the steps, holding a lit cigarette between his fingers.

"Matt?"

A cool smile formed on his lips. "Hey, Mimi."

Suddenly, the exuberant pink-clad girl was hugging him with such force he felt he might lose consciousness.

"Aw, Yama, I've missed you!" she squealed, finally releasing him.

"It's been quieter without you," Matt replied, flicking his cigarette.

"I know you missed me," she said, waving her hand at him.

He smirked and took a drag.

"Since when did you start smoking, anyway?"

He exhaled, coughing slightly. "It's a new habit."

"It'll ruin your voice."

"I don't care."

Mimi looked at him suspiciously. "This isn't because of Sora, is it?" she asked, settling down beside him.

Matt flinched. "No."

"She told me everything," she said, watching him extinguish the butt against the concrete step.

"That makes one of us."

"Don't be mad at her, Matt. She's really confused right now."

"So am I," he retorted. Though he was angry, Mimi could hear the pain in his voice.

"Just because you're upset doesn't give you the right to shut her out," she said. "She misses you."

Those last three words caused Matt's angered face to melt away.

"I don't know what to do," he said, burying his head in his hands.

After a moment, Mimi scooted closer to him and placed a well-manicured hand on his back, rubbing it gently. "I love you, Yama."

He laughed, choking back a loss of tears.

* * *

Iori Hida raised his shinai, ready to strike. His grandfather had been careless, and Iori had grown more advanced over the years. He had the perfect opportunity.

"Iori, telephone!"

His mother's voice startled him and at the last moment he felt his grandfather's sword strike. He sighed, exhausted and annoyed.

"Excuse me, Ojiisan," he said, bowing slightly.

His grandfather laughed, bowing back. "You almost had me. You're getting stronger, Iori."

The young Hida nodded and set down his shinai, running for the phone.

His mother handed it to him, a slightly worried look on her face.

"Iori speaking," he said softly into the receiver.

There was no response. He looked at his mom and noticed her gesturing wildly. He realized he still had his helmet on and he pulled it off quickly.

"Hello?" he heard a worried female voice ask.

"Sorry about that," Iori answered, a slight blush forming across his cheeks. "This is Iori."

"Iori, this is Koushiro's mother," the voice answered, shakily.

He looked up at his own mother who simply watched him intently. "Hello, Izumi-san. Can I help you with something?"

"I couldn't get a hold of anyone else, I'm so glad you're home."

Iori began to look worried now. Something was wrong.

"It's Koushiro…" He could hear her choking up.

"Is he ok?" he asked, concerned.

"No," she answered. "He's gone."


	7. Tremors

**Innocent Games**

**Chapter Seven  
Tremors**

* * *

"I've ruined everything, haven't I?" Her tear-filled eyes hid themselves from his gaze.

TK had led Kari to a small sofa, where she slowly fought away her fit of tears. It was strange to sit awkwardly to the side as she collected herself. If she had been crying about something else, he might have kissed the tears away.

"I don't know, Kari," he murmured.

Her body trembled. "I'm so sorry," she choked.

"I know."

"I miss you so much."

TK was silent. He wasn't ready to tell her that he ached for her smile and warm words. How could he tell her that all that held him back was the image of her with Davis?

A few more tears escape her lids, but she let them fall silently, dampening her long skirt.

"Can I stay with you?" she whispered. "Just for now?"

He breathed in deeply and finally allowed himself to wrap his arms around her.

"Ok."

* * *

Yolei wandered around the house, squeezing through the crowded rooms and feeling utterly lost and alone in the masses. She kept removing her glasses to wipe the bridge of her nose, each time causing the world around her to blur. By the third time she had returned them to her face, the huddled figures of TK and Kari became clear in her vision.

She smiled. She almost felt as if her own hope for love depended on the survival of theirs. If their love didn't survive, she wasn't sure if anyone's could. They had been the most stable couple she had known. Their bond seemed unbreakable. Kari's actions had surprised them all.

Yolei's smile faded. She thought of the times Davis would mope around her apartment, just wishing Kari had given him a chance, how he would pursue her with compliments and his daring grin. He had done everything to have her.

"_You need to give it up, Davis," Yolei said, rolling her eyes at his latest pursuit of Kari._

_Davis sighed, watching Kari walk off with TK, giggling and glancing back at him. "Oh, come on, that wasn't that bad, was it?" He shot a grin at her. "You would've liked it if I told you that, right?"_

_Yolei blushed. The thought of Davis complimenting anything about her seemed ridiculous. "No."_

_It was his turn to roll his eyes. "Ok, if some other guy told you that."_

"_Yeah, I guess," she replied, pushing her hair behind her ear, feeling suddenly self conscious about her appearance._

"_So why give up?" he asked._

"_Because she's with TK."_

"_So?"_

_She shook her head at him, "You are so screwed up."_

"_I'm just determined."_

"_To do what? Break them up?" she scoffed._

"_No, I just want her to know…" he stopped, embarrassed._

"_Know what?" she asked, looking back at him._

"_That I'd do anything for her."_

_Yolei felt her heart skip a beat and tried to push the feeling aside with the usual biting retort. "Then maybe you should leave her alone."_

_Davis smiled. "She's never asked me to." _

And she never did.

Yolei suddenly knew why Kari had given in. She pulled herself from her thoughts and glanced once again at the broken couple.

If only someone would love her like that…

* * *

A couple emerged from the back porch, hand-in-hand. Every muscle in his body tensed and a sick feeling rose from somewhere inside his chest. It couldn't be her. But there was no mistaking her perfect bouncing hair and bubbly smile. Joe turned around quickly, hoping that the meeting of their eyes would go unnoticed.

"Joe?" It was Matt's voice.

He turned around sharply. "Matt," he greeted, though his eyes nervously locked on the girl beside him. For a moment her eyes simply stared into his and he felt captured by her, his whole being bent to her will.

A small smile slowly formed on her face and she let go of Matt's hand, throwing her arms around the shocked college freshman. "Joe! I missed you!"

A blush filled his cheeks and he reached around Mimi to push up his glasses. Behind her, Matt smiled and turned into the crowd, leaving the pair alone.

Joe felt his insides shaking; this was it. He had to gather his courage and tell her.

"Mimi," he began, pushing away from her enough to see her face. There was no way he deserved someone so beautiful. "I-" he choked and the blush in his cheeks paled, a sick look spreading over his features. "I missed you, too."

At least it was a start.

* * *

Iori Hida paced back and forth his apartment with a stoic and determined expression on his face, despite the fact that his heart was racing. In his hand he held his D-terminal, which he typed on vigorously.

He had already tried the cell phones of practically all of the chosen children without a single answer and he found himself growing more anxious by the second.

Mrs. Izumi had tried to control her wavering voice to tell Iori what she and Tentomon had heard crackling from her son's computer. It wasn't the voice of some unidentified monster that had disturbed him the most, but the strained voice of his predecessor calling out for his mother.

There was something very, very wrong.

Iori sent his message through the D-terminal and stopped pacing. Now he could only wait. He gritted his teeth and stared at the screen.

Where was everyone?

* * *

"Davis, are you ok?" Ken asked, watching the tanned boy bury his head in his hands.

A low groan answered him.

"How much did he drink?" Sora asked, rubbing his back gently.

"Too much," Ken sighed.

Davis groaned again, as if in protest. Then he doubled over further, confirming Ken's words.

Sora glanced up at Tai, who had started sipping on his own beer. "Do you think you could get him some water?"

"No problem," Tai said before heading back to the kitchen.

After a moment of silence, a small whimper came from the huddled boy. "This sucks."

"Davis," she murmured. "You shouldn't do this to yourself."

He had been drowning in self pity ever since Kari's rejection. After the incident, she had avoided him at all costs. Whenever Davis had been able to corner her, the look of shame and despair in her eyes only furthered his pain.

He knew that he should have been used to rejection by now. When he had pined after her in junior high, she constantly pushed him aside. Everyone thought that once she had started dating TK, Davis would have given up, but even that hadn't deterred him. He had backed off and given her space, but he never stopped pursuing her.

Now things were different. He had seen the passion in her eyes, felt the beating of her heart against his chest, and tasted the sweetness of her lips. How could he let her go now?

He felt his stomach churn and he clenched his eyes tightly. "I don't wanna feel like this."

"I know." Sora ran a motherly hand over his hair.

"Maybe I should take him home," Ken suggested.

Sora turned from Davis's huddled figure to answer him when she noticed Matt walking towards them. She wasn't sure why, but she suddenly found herself wishing she hadn't sent Tai off to get water.

"Hey Ken," Matt greeted politely. "Sora."

He said her name with such detachment, that it made her want to cry and yell at him all at once. Instead she merely nodded and returned to taking care of Davis who had let out another pained groan.

"Is he ok?" the blonde asked.

"I hope so," Ken said. "I've never seen him drink so much."

"Wasn' that much," Davis mumbled.

"No offense, Davis, but you're not that big of a guy, it doesn't take that much," Ken retorted. Although Davis was slightly more muscular than he was, he was also a good deal shorter. "You had more than someone twice your size should."

"I got the wat- Oh, hey Matt," Tai stopped just in front of the bass player, water in hand.

Avoiding Matt's gaze, Sora reached out and grabbed the water from Tai's hand, coaxing Davis to drink.

He gagged and pushed it away from his face. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

Tai took a step back, just in case, before giving Matt an amused grin. "How do you feel about the state of our protégé?"

"Wouldn't mind joining him," Matt said. It was meant to be a joke, but there was an unmistakable seriousness in his voice. "Without the puking part," he added.

Sora felt a stab in her chest and tried to ignore the guilty feeling that went along with it. "I'll help you to the bathroom," she offered when Davis attempted to stand, wobbling dangerously.

Ken moved to his side quickly and grabbed the arm opposite of Sora, who was struggling with his dead weight.

Before the threesome began to move, Tai jumped in surprise, letting out a gasp. Everyone stared at him (except for Davis, who was too busy trying to see straight). He sheepishly pulled out his D-terminal from his back pocket.

"Had it on vibrate," he explained, embarrassed.

Matt peered over his shoulder. "Who's it from?"

"Cody," Tai replied as he scanned over the e-mail. "Shit."

Everyone waited for an explanation in suspense.

"Something's got Izzy."

Matt's eyebrows creased. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Tai opened his mouth to respond when the ground began shaking violently. In Japan, earthquakes weren't uncommon, but the group of teens soon realized that there was something very wrong with the tremors they felt.

The entire room around them froze. Every person at the party besides the Chosen Children remained completely still, as if on pause.

Sora clung tightly to Davis's shirt. "What's happening?"

The tremors became so violent that her cry was lost in the noise. The people in the room, the couch, the floor, and then everything began to fade to black as the shaking increased, until finally they were left in darkness.

Then there was silence. A silence that slowly moved over them, until Sora realized she could no longer hear Davis's labored breathing and then even the beat of her own heart.


	8. Breaking Apart

**Innocent Games**

**Chapter Eight  
Breaking Apart**

* * *

Can emotions manifest? Dreams, ideas, and thoughts seem plausible. They can become real, come true. But can loneliness, sorrow, love, or fear become tangible? Not the scenarios that cause those feelings or the objects that represent them. What would loneliness really look like?

It was as if darkness was being sucked into her lungs, clinging to her skin. All the horrid things that she kept bottled inside consumed her. She began to whimper, but the heavy silence devoured her voice. She tried to scream, but all was empty, pulled to a void.

But they heard her.

Just as she felt she would crumple beneath her emotions, a hand gently grabbed hers. She felt herself pulled into a warm, steady embrace. Slowly the world came back to her. First the sounds of her own sobs, then a gentle voice whispering her name.

"Yolei, it's ok… you're ok."

She finally registered the voice to be Ken's and she buried her face in his chest, muffling her cries. Then everything began to clear.

"Is everyone alright?" Tai's voice, fearless and resolute, rang through the emptiness.

A few other voices answered with shaky affirmatives. A dim light began to appear, revealing paled faces. Sora was bent over Davis, who began vomiting against what felt like a cold, cement floor. It smelled strongly of sake and beer.

"Tai!" Kari cried. She ran to her brother, TK trailing behind her. Tai placed a protective arm around her shoulders.

Joe appeared with Mimi following him timidly, clinging tightly to his hand, and a smile crept onto Tai's lips, despite their desperate surroundings. "Didn't think I'd see you here," he said to Joe, allowing his eyes to gesture to Mimi.

Joe blushed.

"Where is here?" Matt chimed in.

The teens had appeared in a place that seemed most like nothingness. Beyond the dim fluorescent-like light that illuminated their bodies, there was only darkness that seemed like it could stretch for either miles or only a few yards.

"It's creepy," Mimi whined.

Sora stopped attending to the sick boy for a moment. "Is this the digital world?"

"I don't think so," a new voice chimed in. Everyone turned to see Iori scanning his D-3.

"Iori!" Yolei choked. She pulled herself from Ken's embrace to grab onto the youngest member of the group.

Iori reddened; embarrassed by his older friend's unhindered emotions.

"How'd you get here?" Tai asked.

"I assume the same way you did. A quake and then… darkness," the young boy replied. No one questioned his pause; they had all experienced something before the darkness.

Davis coughed and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. "How da hell do we get outta here?" he slurred, attempting to stand without Sora's help.

"We don't," Tai said. "Not until we find Izzy."

Joe looked confused. "Wait, what does Izzy have to do with this?"

Iori explained what Mrs. Izumi had told him over the phone. "I believe his disappearance must have something to do with this," he finished, looking down once more at his D-3. "But this place isn't in the digiworld, we're somewhere else."

"Well, I don't care where we are, let's get Izzy and find a way out of here," Tai said, dropping his arm from Kari's shoulder.

"Where do we start looking?" Matt asked, voicing everyone's thoughts as he peered into the dark void.

"Let's just start moving; there's gotta be a way out."

No one argued although the darkness seemed never ending. They had to try something. The group was silent, all drawn together for one goal. It almost felt like old times, except that their cheerful digital companions were absent from their sides and though the new pains in their lives kept silent, they raged inside.

It wasn't fifteen minutes into their walk when Davis was sick again, heaving more excess alcohol from his stomach. Yolei and Ken had taken Sora's place helping the drunken teen along.

"Oh, gross," Yolei exclaimed. She bent down to hand him a tissue she had shoved in her pocket. "Sometimes you are such an idiot," she chastised, though her voice betrayed her concern.

"Thanks," Davis groaned sarcastically, wiping at his mouth with the tissue. He caught Kari's worried gaze and he looked down, ashamed. "I dun think I can walk n'more," he mumbled, feeling bile rising once again to the back of his throat.

Sora, though walking at the head of the group, had glanced back at the trio. She stopped, which instantly grabbed the attention of Matt.

"Tai?" she murmured.

Matt quickly averted his eyes.

In the past, Tai would have been too caught up in leading to notice her small voice, but this time he stopped in his tracks. "What's up, Sora?"

"I think we should stop. Davis is really sick."

Tai glanced back to where Davis was kneeled over, spitting on the ground. His normally tan face had paled dramatically. Both Ken and Yolei looked equally concerned.

"Ok," he said, turning back to Sora, "but I have to keep looking."

The expression on her face turned quickly from relief to horror. "Tai, you can't."

Joe hesitantly stepped into the conversation. "She's right. We can barely see a step in front of us. If you leave, you may not be able to find your way back."

"I can't just sit here," Tai responded. "Davis might be sick, but we have no idea what condition Izzy is in." His expression darkened. "I have to find him."

The terrified look on Sora's face caused Matt to chime in. "Tai, we've been walking for fifteen minutes and I can't tell the difference between here and where we started. The best thing we can do right now is stick together."

Tai looked defeated.

"Maybe we _should_ split up."

Everyone turned to face TK, looking at the blonde with shock. He was the last person they had expected the suggestion to come from.

"Didn't we just say that was a bad idea?" Joe asked.

"We're here for a reason. Something brought us here and this darkness..." TK paused, his face grave. "Well, if there's something waiting for us, I think that it'd be better if we find it first."

"That's what worries me," Joe replied. "If something did bring us here, wouldn't we be better off facing it together?"

Tai looked encouraged. "Or we could catch it by surprise."

"Tai, we have no idea what we're dealing with," Matt said.

"Which is why I can't just sit here and wait to find out."

"Well, I vote for staying here, my feet hurt," Mimi chimed in, pulling off her heels.

"Then we split up," Tai said. Then with an attempted smile, he added, "Who's ready for an adventure?"

* * *

Yolei glanced at the group ahead. "What's going on?"

Ken watched as the original chosen children debated about what to do. "I think we're splitting up."

"What?! We can't do that! What if we can't find each other again? Then what are we going to do? What are they think-" Yolei stopped mid-rant as Davis leaned heavily into her, his eyelids dropping. She held onto him tighter, trying to steady him.

"Actually, I've been able to get a faint signal from the other digivices here," Iori interjected. "If we stay within a five mile radius of each other, they should be able to find their way back to us."

Yolei bit her lip. "I hope they don't have to go that far."

* * *

"I'm not letting you go without me, Tai."

The oldest Yagami ran a hand through his hair. "Kari, you should stay here where it's safe."

"You don't even know that," she protested. "Please." A desperate look in her eyes reminded him of her distress. Davis would be staying behind.

A loud sigh confirmed his defeat. "So who else?"

TK had already volunteered, his brother hesitantly following his lead. Joe complained about a bad knee, although it was obvious he was trying to stay close to Mimi who had already conned him into allowing her to style his hair.

"I'm coming," Sora said. "And don't even try that guys only stuff with me, Tai."

He held up his hands in defense. "Hey, I know you're man enough," he snickered before receiving a punch in the arm. "Ow."

The newest chosen children had caught up with them, Davis's eyes were barely open and he was wobbling dangerously between Ken and Yolei, closer and closer to passing out.

"I'd like to come, Tai," Ken said as he helped Yolei lower Davis to the ground.

Tai noticed Yolei's eyes grow wide and a protest form on her lips, but a heavy groan from Davis distracted her. "Sure," he responded. "Do you think you guys are going to be ok?"

Joe nodded, a deep blush covering his cheeks. Mimi had pulled his hair into a ponytail and was attempting to catch his loose strands. "He should be alright after some rest if I can get him to keep some water down," he said, pulling a bottle from his bag.

"Always prepared," Tai grinned.

Joe shrugged sheepishly.

Iori looked over his D-3 once again. "The signal isn't great, but its there. Send us a message when you think you've gone four miles or so."

Tai nodded. "Will do."

There was a long silence.

"Well, guess we'll see you guys around, then." Their leader's voice made it final.

Yolei felt hot tears sting her lids. Ken's hand on her shoulder made her take a deep breath, trying to hide her emotions.

"Take good care of him," Ken said, forcing a soft smile.

She nodded, unable to smile back. "I will."

Half of the group then began to follow their leader further into the darkness. Ken reluctantly left Yolei's side and she tore her eyes from him as she settled on the ground beside Davis.

"Be careful," cried Mimi.

A wave from Sora was the last thing they saw before they faded into the nothingness. Everyone tried to ignore the heavy despair that began to eat at the air around them. Joe had been right… they were better together.

* * *

"The most hardened heart is the easiest to break in the end."

A cold voice penetrated his ears, bringing him back to reality.

"And this is the end, isn't it, Izumi?"

Izzy felt the same wave of despair.

"Yes."


	9. The Light

**Innocent Games**

**Chapter Nine  
The Light**

* * *

It was overwhelming.

The dark and silent world ate away at their small talk until it dwindled to quiet introspection.

"What kind of place is this?" Sora asked no one in particular. She didn't really expect an answer, but it felt too dismal to walk without speaking.

After a moment, Tai spoke up. "There's only two places I've been to besides earth," he murmured, as if thinking aloud. "The digital world and the internet, when we battled Diaboramon."

Ken was the only one with them who hadn't been a digidestined during that time, but he remembered the threatening figure that appeared on his computer screen that day. It was just months before his brother died.

"Both of those worlds were inadvertently created by humans," he replied.

Tai nodded. "It was nothing like this."

"It reminds me of the dark ocean," Kari's small voice spoke, though her eyes were downcast.

"It feels the same," Ken said in agreement. "It's certainly dismal enough. But this is more like… nothing. The dark ocean was a warped reflection of the digital world and our fears."

The rest of the group didn't know how to respond. The dark ocean was a place unique to Ken and Kari. It was a world that had twisted Ken into the Digimon Kaiser and attempted to turn Kari from the light. Only TK had experienced it unaffected, but he had gotten there by a glitch.

"It was directly correlated with the digital world," Ken continued. "The control spires helped break down the barriers and... I opened a portal there." He looked ashamed.

Kari put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, a sad smile crossing her face. "It wasn't your fault, Ken."

He smiled back, thankful for the gesture.

"The cave was like this," Matt spoke up. He was fiddling with a pack of cigarettes in his pocket, eyes drawn to the black space ahead of them. "I think the dark ocean was trying to break through to the digital world even back then. They've always been intertwined." He glanced at Sora. The cave was an experience that they had both shared. She kept her eyes glued to the ground.

"This isn't like any of that," TK said, his voice firm. "This is a void. It's like a beginning of something unfinished. It feels... artificial."

Tai's eyes narrowed. "Are you saying someone made this?"

TK shrugged. "Just a feeling."

There was a period of silence.

Matt pulled out a cigarette and lit it, taking a long drag. "I hope you're wrong."

* * *

Yolei felt nauseous.

Davis spit on the ground after another round of dry heaving. "Ugh..." he groaned, holding his head in his hands.

She rubbed his back in a motherly gesture although she had moved an arm's length away.

"He really should try to get some food in his system," Joe suggested, trying unsuccessfully to hide his embarrassment as Mimi proceeded to give him pigtail braids. She scolded him for moving as he dug in his bag, pulling out a snack bar.

Yolei grabbed the bar and unwrapped it, sticking it directly under Davis's nose. "Eat this," she demanded.

His distorted vision caused the bar to look abnormally large. He swallowed back a bit of bile that rose in his throat. Shaking his head in protest, he haphazardly pushed it from his face.

"You are so stubborn," she scolded. "Did you have anything to eat today before you started drinking like a moron?"

"Yolei, leave me alone."

She removed her hand from his back. "I'm trying to help you, you idiot. At least have some more water. You're dehydrated."

In return, Davis gave her the coldest look he could muster in his drunken state. The concentration it took only succeeded in making his head pound more intensely. He moaned and replaced his head in his hands.

A water bottle was gently placed against his lips. Reluctantly, he took a sip. Water dribbled down his chin. Nausea retook him and he pushed the bottle away, biting his lip to hold back another round of vomit. This time it passed and he was able to keep it down.

It was becoming more difficult to keep his eyes open. Davis felt horribly guilty about his state considering the mess they had gotten into. He was supposed to be their leader. Instead he was stuck behind puking his guts out. He tried not to think about Kari's tearful face or TK's betrayed gaze, but they seemed to haunt him now, swimming in his vision whenever he closed his eyes.

He wasn't sure how or when it happened, but he suddenly felt cool smooth skin against his hot cheek and a soft hand press against his forehead. Something about the touch soothed him and for a moment he forgot the hurt and betrayal he had caused and drifted off to sleep.

"I think I see something," Iori stated, trotting back to their group. He had been pacing around them, studying his D-3.

Yolei tried to hide the blush on her cheeks, shifting self-consciously under Davis's weight. He had passed out, falling gently against her shoulder.

"What is it?" Joe asked, standing up. Mimi pouted as his hair began unraveling.

Iori pointed into the distance. "Do you see that?"

Yolei, Joe, and Mimi all stared into the black abyss, squinting.

"Is that a light?" Mimi finally asked, sounding both frightened and excited.

He nodded. "At first I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but it's been growing."

The small speck of light in the distance was different from the dim fluorescent-like lighting that illuminated their faces. It was bright, like a trace of sunlight peeking between tightly shut blinds.

"Do you think it might be a way out?" Joe asked.

"We can't leave without the others!"

"We won't, Mimi," he replied, pushing back his glasses. He looked extremely nervous. "We should probably check it out, though."

Iori opened his D-terminal, typing away vigorously. "I'm sending the rest of the group a message about the light. They're about three miles from here. We'll check it out and let them know if they should head back."

Yolei pushed against Davis's shoulder in an attempt to wake him. He only slid further into her, his clammy forehead now pressed against her collar bone.

"Let him sleep it off," Joe said, pulling an extra water bottle and snack bar out of his bag. "If he wakes up, try to force some more water into him and see if he can keep this down."

This seemed like a bad idea. "Mimi, you're staying with me, aren't you?"

Mimi stretched before pulling her heels back on. "Nope, I'm leaving you two love birds alone," she winked, laughing.

"What?!" Yolei almost leapt to her feet, causing Davis to shift into an even more uncomfortable position.

"We'll be right back, Yolei." Iori said, calming the violet-haired girl. "I'll send you a message in fifteen minutes. If we aren't close enough to tell what it is by then, we'll turn back and wait for the others."

The darkness seemed to close in on her and the emotions that manifested before rose to the surface. She swallowed back the loneliness and rejection, trying to put on a brave face. "Ok."

As they slowly disappeared into the darkness, her only comfort in the deep silence was the soft sound of Davis's snoring.

* * *

"Iori found something." Tai was staring at his D-Terminal while the others gathered around him.

Matt put out the butt of his cigarette with his boot. "What is it?"

"A light," answered Sora. She was standing away from the crowd, staring into the distance.

"How'd you know?" Tai asked before looking up from Iori's message. A bright light peeked through the darkness around them. It seemed miles away. "What the hell is that?"

"Do you think it's the same thing they're seeing?" TK wondered.

Tai shrugged. "Only one way to find out!"

"Wait a minute, Tai," Matt said. "We need to think this through."

Tai caught his look and tried to hold back the tension he felt build inside him. Even though he was more mature than when they first entered the digital world, he still hated it when Matt questioned him. Plus, Izzy was in trouble and he didn't want to risk hesitating. "Listen, Matt, this is our only lead. We need to check this out."

"Matt's right," Ken spoke up, his D-3 in his hands. "We're going to be out of the range of Iori's group soon. It's possible that once we lose their signal, we won't be able to find it again."

Tai ran a hand through his mop of hair, taking a deep breath. "We can't just stand here," he said, trying to keep his voice level.

"Let's stick to the original plan, Tai," Matt suggested. "We've been walking for about three miles. We'll walk one more mile toward the light and get back in touch with Iori. Then we'll figure out where to go from there."

Tai nodded. "One more mile."

* * *

Yolei noticed her knee bouncing uncontrollably and she tried to steady herself. She sat, cross-legged (she thanked herself for putting on a tiny pair of bicycle shorts under her mini-skirt) on the cold, flat ground with Davis's head in her lap. He had slowly slid to the position as the time passed and was snoring heavily against her leg.

She pulled her cardigan tightly around herself, her eyes searching the darkness. She felt so alone. She was going to kill Mimi when they got back. _Lovebirds_… as if Davis was any company right now let alone someone she was interested in. He was so wrapped up in a girl he would never have that he couldn't see anyone else.

She unconsciously stroked his hair. The gel he used had worn out and she was amazed at how soft it felt. He stirred restlessly and she felt a warm wet spot on her thigh where he drooled.

"Ew, Davis," she said, moving her hand from his hair to wipe away the moisture. She swept her damp hand across his back in retaliation.

Her free knee began bouncing again. She wished Hawkmon were there. She was getting anxious and angry, a very bad combination. The bird digimon always seemed to be able to soothe her somehow. But he wasn't there and everyone else had left her alone to take care of a doofus who couldn't hold his liquor.

The darkness closed in on her and she stilled herself as if waiting for a sound. Her heart was racing. Did she hear something? She pinched Davis's nose to cover up his snoring. She was only met with silence before a choking noise came from the sleeping boy. An angry fist swiped her hand from his face and he mumbled a curse before falling back to sleep, snoring even more loudly than before.

She looked at the sliver of light, so far away, and tears started to fall down her face.

* * *

"They see a light too," Iori said, reading the latest message from Tai.

"Is it the same one?" questioned Joe, repositioning his bag on his shoulder.

Iori shook his head. "I'm not sure. They just started walking toward it," he paused, looking up at the beam that split through the dark world. "We'll know in a few minutes."

"How?" Mimi asked, peering over his shoulder.

The youngest chosen patiently held out his D-3 for her to look at. He pointed at a group of three flashing signals. "If these dots, us, get closer to those dots, Tai's group," he pointed to a group of six, "then we can conclude that the light we are headed toward is the same."

She pointed to two lone dots about a mile back. "Are those Yolei and Davis?"

He nodded. "I should send Yolei a message and let her know what's up." He stuck his D-3 into his pocket and began typing on his D-Terminal.

After a few moments, it beeped with a new message. "She says she hates us all."

Joe looked concerned. "Maybe we should go back."

"She's just being melodramatic," Iori reassured.

Mimi looked guilty. "I should've stayed with her. I just thought it would be a nice opportunity for them to bond."

The two boys looked at her like she was crazy.

"I thought you were kidding," Joe said.

"You know she likes Ken, right?" Iori asked while Joe added, "The only thing Davis can bond with right now is the ground."

Mimi shrugged. "I know she does, but I always got a sense there was something more between them."

Iori looked at her incredulously before changing the subject. "We'll turn back as soon as we know if we're headed toward the same light as everyone else. If we are, we can go get Yolei and Davis and meet everyone there."

Joe adjusted his glasses. "That's probably best. If we aren't going the same way, we should head back soon anyway. I'd rather not experience Yolei's wrath."

"Oh, it's too late for that." Iori looked deathly serious.

* * *

They were getting close to the four mile mark and the light still seemed just as far away as it had when they turned toward it.

Tai tried to hide his discouragement. They weren't getting anywhere. He fell into step with TK. "So, you're the one with all these... feelings today," he said, attempting to sound nonchalant.

TK looked at him, amused, waiting for him to continue.

"Got any idea what that thing is?" he asked, gesturing toward the brightness ahead.

The young blonde shrugged. "Nope."

Tai grimaced. "Some help you are."

They walked in silence. Matt and Ken were discussing music theory. The younger of the two had been attempting to write his own songs on the piano. He was brilliant, like he seemed to be at most things. Unlike most of his talents that faded slightly after the removal of his dark spore, his music seemed to flourish. Matt had claimed it was because it was from his soul.

Behind them Sora was speaking in a very low voice to Kari, most likely discussing the drama that had unfolded at the party only hours before.

Had it only been hours? This place seemed to suck time into it like a vacuum.

"So, how you doing, Takaishi?"

"Do you really want to talk to me about this, Tai?" His blue eyes met the brunette, eyebrows raised.

Tai was still amazed that he actually had to look up at the younger boy. Kids grew too damn fast these days. "Sure do."

"Not good."

"You know she cries almost every night," Tai whispered. He stole a glance back at his sister. She might murder him in his sleep if she heard him getting involved in her relationship.

A pained expression crossed TK's face.

"Listen, TK, I'm not telling you to get back together with my sister. Hell, if a girl did that to me, I don't think I'd stay with her," Tai admitted. "But I don't think she'll ever regret anything more in life than what she did to you.

"For what it's worth, Davis was relentless. He's never dated anyone and I think it's because he's been in love with her all this time. Not that it's an excuse, but it's hard to ignore someone's pursuit for that long."

"Sora didn't seem to have a problem ignoring you," TK snapped.

Tai grit his teeth and looked back at the girl in question. She was still intensely involved in her conversation with his sister. Matt, on the other hand, met his eyes for a brief second before returning to his conversation with Ken.

Tai turned back to TK, who already looked ashamed. "I deserved that."

"I'm sorry, Tai."

The older boy waved him off. "No, that was a stupid thing for me to say." Tai shoved his hands in his pockets. After another moment passed, he spoke up again. "She loves _you_."

The emphasis was not lost on TK.

"TAI!" Sora's voice was panicked.

All four boys whipped around. Just behind the girls, another light had appeared. It was growing rapidly, as if they were hurtling toward it. The reference 'light at the end of a tunnel' seemed to come to the forefront of everyone's mind.

The instinct was to run, but as the group turned to the light they had been chasing, there was no escape. It too had grown at such a rapid rate that it seemed as if it were barreling at them. It came so quickly that Tai was sure something was about to hit them from both sides.

They braced for impact and the light swallowed them whole.


	10. Memories

**Innocent Games**

**Chapter Ten  
Memories**

* * *

"What the hell?"

Joe looked at Iori in surprise. Since when did he start cursing? He was officially a teenager now, but he was usually so polite. Then again, a lot of things had changed about their youngest member lately. He had grown as tall as Davis (who spent a whole day in a bad mood when they had come to this realization) and he also insisted they drop his childhood nickname of Cody. Davis and Tai both still seemed to have trouble with this request.

"What is it?" Mimi asked, glancing at the D-3 in his hands.

Iori's green eyes were wide with shock. "They're gone!"

Sure enough, the six blinking lights that represented Tai's group were missing from the D-3's screen.

Joe swallowed down a tight lump in his throat. "Did they go too far?"

Iori shook his head. "They still had a half mile to go," he replied. "They just disappeared."

"We should go back," Mimi said, her voice wavering. They left Davis and Yolei all alone. They had spent hours in this black world and nothing had been happening. It seemed harmless to leave them for just a few minutes. Now the threat was real and they were defenseless.

"This was a bad idea," Joe said, echoing her thoughts. "We should have never split up."

The trio all looked at the sliver of light simultaneously. The joy it had evoked in them had vanished. Now it seemed menacing in the distance.

"Maybe they escaped?" Mimi asked hopefully, although her voice revealed that she didn't think that was possible. They wouldn't have left without them.

The youngest chosen child began typing furiously on his D-terminal. "I'm sending a message to Tai. Hopefully, wherever they are, they'll get it."

"We should let Yolei know what happened," Joe suggested.

"I think it's better if we don't," Iori said, closing his D-terminal. "She'll panic."

Mimi nodded. "Let's just hurry back then."

When they turned around, another light was there to greet them.

"Joe!" Mimi grabbed his hand, fear gripping her.

In seconds, they were engulfed.

* * *

She was having a panic attack. Tears streamed down her face and she couldn't breathe. The darkness was everywhere, pressing against her like she was being buried alive.

"Davis, please wake up," she whimpered, gripping the back of his shirt.

Yolei was only greeted with snores; the alcohol had knocked him out cold. She hated him for it.

Her eyes darted around her. Where was the light? She could've sworn it was to her left. She searched before finding it just behind her right shoulder. It seemed smaller than before; just a speck in the darkness.

She despaired. "Wake up, you selfish asshole! I need you!" she cried, beating his back with her fists.

The snores stopped momentarily and he shifted, his eyes tightening in pain, but he didn't wake. She could've sworn she heard him mumble "fuck off" in his sleep.

"No, fuck you, Davis! Get the hell up!" she screamed, hysterical.

She started hyperventilating. Why did they leave her? Why did Ken leave her? Where was everyone? It seemed as if days went by as she sat there, waiting for their return. How long had it been? Hours passed since she typed furiously in her D-Terminal, begging them to come back. No response ever came. Something horrible must've happened.

Yolei rolled Davis off her lap and he slumped against the ground unaware. She tried to stand, but she sunk back to her knees, her hands meeting the cold smooth floor. She gasped for air, wheezing.

"I don't want to be alone," she sobbed.

In response, the light embraced her.

* * *

The room seemed familiar now that his head had cleared. A bed was made up neatly in the center, a window to his right. A desk and a new custom-built computer were on the opposite wall.

This was his room.

"Look familiar?"

He remembered that voice. It wasn't a dream then. He glanced at the room again. It seemed wrong somehow. Had that picture on the dresser always been there? He couldn't make out the exact expression on the faces.

He tried to move and found his hands and ankles were shackled. A new strength overcame him and he frantically pulled against his bonds.

The room faded in a blinding white light and he was brought back to the darkness.

"Very good, Izumi," the voice said, coated in somber delight.

Izzy could see nothing, but he heard steady breathing coming from all directions. Chills ran down his spine. What else was in here?

A clicking, like claws against a tile floor, came from his right and stopped just in front of him.

"Now, let us try something different." Hot, sour breath hit his face. "It is time for them to see."

Suddenly it felt like a hand had reached inside him, clawing at his mind. He heard himself scream before the nightmares returned.

* * *

The bright light subsided into dreams and memories. They occurred unnaturally, as if they were pulled from his mind by a hypnotist.

_Kari was nine and flushed with fever. TK put on a brave face for the bearer of Courage; he would defend Kari until he returned. Even though Sora was older, Tai had left him responsible._

_The desolate cityscape was bleak and silent. It almost seemed like the dark masters weren't after them and it was simply a dreary day. TK turned from the window and Patamon perched on his hat as he made his way to Kari's side. Sora pressed a cool compress on her forehead while Gatomon curled up beside her partner, concern etched across her feline features. As he took another step forward, Kari's eyes opened and a small, sweet smile worked its way onto her face._

"_How are you feeling?" Sora asked, a motherly hand running over the younger girl's hair._

_Kari stroked Gatomon's ears, relaxing the digimon. "I'm fine," she said, but the small bout of coughing that soon consumed her seemed to say otherwise._

"_Let me get you some water." Sora left the room, Biyomon trailing behind her. TK could hear them whispering. Tai and Izzy had been gone a long time._

_He took Sora's chair and swung his legs back and forth. "Don't worry. Tai's gonna be back with some medicine for you real soon."_

_She smiled again, recovered from her coughing fit. "Thanks, TK."_

_It was the first time he ever thought someone his own age was really beautiful. Sure, he thought his mom and Mimi and Sora were all pretty, but usually girls were still just girls. Kari was different. He felt himself blush and he gripped the edge of his seat._

_Patamon gave him a look of confusion, but remained silent._

"_I'm going to take care of you, Kari." TK's blushed deepened. He wasn't sure why he had said it, but he knew it was true; and he didn't mean until Tai returned. He meant always._

_Through the fever, her eyes glistened with joy and his heart melted._

When he opened his eyes, it was like they had never left.

TK would never forget the drab interior of the mansion inside Machinedramon's city. When he saw the bed, he half expected to see Kari lying there, sick.

"Where are we?" Ken's voice cut through the silence and the memories. His hand was rubbing the side of his head as if he were suffering from a migraine. He looked ill.

"This is the digital world," Sora responded, sounding unsure.

Tai was pacing back and forth, his fingers stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Only, this was all destroyed by Machinedramon and his henchmen. It shouldn't exist."

Matt was peering out the same window that TK had kept watch out of all those years ago. "Is that the Eifel Tower?" He sounded only partially surprised. The digital world was notorious for its replicas of their world.

Tai joined him at the window. "Yeah," he said, sounding cheerful. He pointed to the right. "Over there is the Roman coliseum. I always did want to see where the gladiators fought."

"What about the others?" Kari's concerned voice broke through their moment of distraction.

TK pulled his D-3 out of his pocket. "It's just us," he said softly. "They're gone."

"Damn it," Tai muttered, guilt ridden. "We shouldn't have left them." His fist clenched tightly as he continued to stare at the city. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to Matt.

"We'll find them again, Tai," the blonde said, his icy eyes focused. "And Izzy too."

Tai nodded and took a deep breath; a half-hearted grin replaced the frown on his face. "I guess I should come up with a plan."

They waited expectantly before Tai's expression fell again. "It'd help if I knew why we were here. Or where here really is," he said, exasperated.

"You don't think this is really the digiworld?" Sora asked.

"If this city was destroyed in the digital world then either someone rebuilt it or we're somewhere else." Ken was the one who answered. He had finally removed his hand from his head, but he still looked as if he were in pain.

"We're somewhere else," TK said.

"Another one of your feelings?" Tai questioned.

TK's eyes inadvertently met the youngest Yagami's as he thought of his memory. Kari knew the significance of this place, but now the joy she once held in her eyes was burdened with guilt and sorrow.

"I dreamt about this," he admitted, tearing his gaze from hers. "After the light, it felt like someone was sifting through my memories and I remembered the last time we were here. Then we were here again."

Instead of questioning him, everyone fell silent; each one seemed to have an internal debate. TK wondered if they thought he was crazy.

Ken spoke first. "I felt it too, TK." His hand had pressed against his head again. "For all our sakes, I'm glad we're in your dream and not mine."

* * *

_Even though she was surrounded by friends, she felt alone._

_She watched as Joe and Ikkakumon disappeared across the colorless lake. He wouldn't let her come with him, even though she had asked. Despite the fact that he usually got annoyed with her begging, he normally gave her what she wanted. This time he left her behind._

"_Mimi? Are you ok?" Palmon's big green eyes were concerned. _

_She hadn't even noticed she was crying. She wiped the tear away with the back of her glove. _

"_Why do boys have to be so stupid?"_

_The plant-like digimon looked at her knowingly. "Are you talking about Joe?"_

"_No! It's not just him. Why do boys always have to go 'find themselves'? It's not like they're lost! It's so stupid!"_

_Palmon's flower quivered in confusion._

"_They always have to prove something," Mimi continued. "They always have to fight something." Tears started to fall down her face again._

"_Oh, Mimi," Palmon soothed, wrapping her vine-like hands around her._

"_I know that I left everyone so we wouldn't have to fight, but I was happy Joe came with me," she admitted. "I don't want to be alone."_

_Her partner looked offended. "I'm here! And so are all your other friends!" She gestured to the other digimon who were burying the broken eggs in primary village. _

_Mimi nodded and tried to pull herself together. "You're right, Palmon. Thank you for staying with me."_

_She turned from the lake and followed her digimon to the burial grounds. _

_The geckomon noticed she had been crying. "Don't worry, Princess Mimi," he said. "They'll be reborn again."_

_Mimi felt guilty that the deaths of the digimon weren't the cause of her tears._

The lake was still colorless and Joe was by her side.

"Who could have done this?" Iori's voice was shocked and angry. She turned to see him staring in disbelief at the ruins of Primary Village. Digieggs were smashed, blocks overturned, and the school for baby and in-training digimon was destroyed. All was gray.

Joe swallowed heavily. "The dark masters," he murmured. "But we destroyed them."

"I don't think we're in the digital world," Mimi said, her voice quavering. The world was silent around them. There were no digimon burying their dead; not even the sound of small animals scurrying in the forest.

"Mimi?" Joe touched her shoulder. "You're crying."

She wiped a tear from her cheek, pulling away a finger stained with mascara. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"What do you mean we're not in the digital world?" Iori asked. He was clearly distraught at the sight before him. Anyone would be. The bright and cheerful birthplace of digimon was monochrome and filled with death.

"I was dreaming of this," Mimi explained. "After the light hit us, memories just started playing in my mind, until I remembered this."

Joe and Iori glanced at each other for a brief moment as if they were sharing the same thought. Mimi wiped away the remainder of her tears.

"This is awful," the youngest chosen child finally said.

"It is," Joe replied, though his gaze had returned to Mimi rather than Primary Village.

"What happened to everyone else, Iori? Do you think they're here too?"

He looked at his D-3 and shook his head solemnly. "They're not here. We've lost them."

Joe pushed up his glasses and shifted the weight of the bag on his shoulder. "We're responsible for leaving Yolei and Davis behind. We need to find them." But instead of choosing a direction to go, he placed his bag on the ground and kneeled, taking a broken digiegg into his arms. Then, without care for his bare hands or pressed dress shirt, he began to dig.

Iori and Mimi didn't question him. Even if they weren't really in the digital world, even if this was all an illusion, it was the right thing to do.

They joined him on the ground and began digging tiny graves.

* * *

_The rain poured down as if the floodgates of heaven had opened above him. The angels cried tears that wouldn't escape his eyes._

_His lack of external emotion didn't mean a lack of internal turmoil. Instead, the raindrops were his tears and the thunder was his anger. The wind was his despair. His body was shivering, but his face was hard as he stared into the streets of Odaiba._

"_Daisuke, what the hell are you doing out here? You're soaked!" _

"_Go away, Jun." He didn't recognize the sound of his own voice. It was strained and stretched thin._

"_No, dumbass," his sister retorted, although he could pick up the concern in her voice. "Now get inside before Mom gets home. She'll kick my ass if I let you stay out here until you're sick."_

_Davis ignored her and continued staring at the street below him. His hands were firmly pressed on the edge of the balcony and the wind swept torrents of rain against his face. He needed to be outside right now. The rain helped wash away the scent of her from his clothes, the taste of her from his mouth. The cold air distracted him from thoughts of holding her again._

"_What's the matter with you?"_

"_Like you care." The bitterness in his voice caught him by surprise. He glanced at his older sister and noticed the pain that flickered across her face. Sure, they didn't get along, but they were always there for each other. He felt guilty, but his hardened expression didn't dissipate._

_The pain on Jun's face was quickly replaced with anger. "Fine, Daisuke. Stay out here and freeze! Don't talk to me!"_

_He turned back to the cars below and expected to hear the door slam._

_Instead she whispered softly, "I'll make you some hot chocolate. Don't let it get cold."_

_When the door clicked he laughed and the wind howled._

A loud bang woke him. Immediately Davis thought he was going to vomit, but he swallowed it back. His head was pounding and he still felt intoxicated. He looked around to see that he was in his own bed. He slowly sat up, placing his head in his hands.

Was it all a dream? Maybe he drank until he passed out and someone had brought him home. The dark world seemed like a nightmare.

He noticed he was shirtless, but why were his pants soaked? His first reaction was to be mortified. He couldn't have been so drunk that he did that, could he? He was relieved when he realized his jeans were completely soaked down to his ankles.

"What the hell?" His voice was thick and groggy as he pushed down the covers. When he stumbled out of bed he heard another bang come from the direction of the kitchen. His mom must be cooking breakfast. She was probably furious with him for coming home drunk. It had only happened once before, but he had been grounded for weeks. He was not looking forward to facing her.

Davis resisted the urge to crawl back into bed and began stripping off his pants and boxers. He felt disgusting; he could still taste and smell vomit and alcohol. He grabbed a towel that hung over the edge of his bed and wrapped it around his waist before opening the door and heading toward the bathroom down the hall.

He jumped when he heard a louder crash than before.

When he looked up, Yolei was fuddling around with a pan that she had dropped on the floor, her cheeks bright red.

He instantly shut himself into the bathroom.

"What the hell are you doing in my house?" Davis shouted through the door, embarrassed. He could hear her placing the pan on the stove.

"What are you talking about, Davis?" Her voice came back at him, shrill. "I helped you get inside, remember?"

He glared at the door, angry that he had no idea what she was talking about. "No," he said shortly.

"While you were passed out in that place a light came at us and then we were on your balcony in the pouring rain."

That explained why his pants were soaked. He heard the refrigerator door open and soon the sound of something sizzling filled his ears.

"It wasn't a dream?" he choked. He looked at the mirror and a ghastly reflection stared back. His normally tan complexion had paled and there were dark circles under his eyes. His lip and eye were still swollen from his fight with TK and his hair was completely limp against his forehead, wet from the rain.

"No," Yolei responded.

Davis tore his eyes away from his reflection and turned on the water in the shower. "If we're back home then why are you still here?"

He could hear the sound of her huffing over the running water. He had pissed her off.

"Because, Davis, we're not home. We're somewhere else."

He paused and cracked open the door, peering out at her. "What?"

She looked up from her cooking and stared at him seriously. "There's no one here. Your family, your neighbors, my family, even the streets are empty… everyone's gone."

No longer worried about modesty, Davis came out of the bathroom holding his towel firmly with one hand. He grabbed the telephone from the kitchen wall. He was about to dial his mother's cell when he noticed there wasn't a dial tone. The line was completely dead.

When he stepped outside his apartment door, the only sound in the normally busy Odaiba streets was the pouring rain. No cars or people passed.

He came back into the house and looked at Yolei's knowing face in disbelief.

"Where are we?"

She frowned and took a break from cooking to pour herself a cup of tea. For the first time, he noticed she had been crying. Mascara streaks still lingered on her cheeks. She took a slow sip before answering him.

"I don't know, but we're going to get out of here."

The sound of her voice revealed that she was only trying to comfort herself. Davis didn't confirm her thoughts; instead he shut himself into the bathroom and let the hot water burn away the memories that resurfaced in his mind.


	11. The First Night

**Innocent Games**

**Chapter Eleven  
The First Night  
**

* * *

The house was empty, just like before. Kari watched her brother opening cabinets filled with empty containers. The labels on the boxes were written in English, but they clearly should have contained food. He turned one upside down and shook it, exasperated with its lack of contents.

"Couldn't you have dreamt this place had something to eat this time?" he asked TK, who had already given up searching for supplies.

TK shrugged. "It was more of a memory than a dream."

He glanced at her. Kari didn't know how to feel when a warm smile appeared on his face. Maybe he was trying to repair their friendship. He had already made it clear he wasn't ready to get back together.

She tried to return his smile, but it came out so artificially that she was ashamed. How could she smile at him after what she did? She turned around, pretending to search the pantry. Her thoughts drifted to Davis and she felt just as guilt ridden.

He had been in love with her for a long time. When they were in primary school, she assumed it was just a childhood crush.

After the Yagami's moved from Highton View Terrace and into their new apartment, Tai had joined a soccer team. As one of the older kids, he mentored the younger players, including Kari's classmate Daisuke Motomiya. Davis adored her brother and Tai took him under his wing, giving him pointers and running scrimmages with him after practice.

It seemed only natural for Davis to love his hero's little sister. Between soccer games and school, he and Kari spent a lot of time together. Besides Yolei (who sometimes seemed more like his enemy than his friend), she was the only girl he hung out with. Back then he had trouble making friends. Davis was impulsive and reckless, following his heart more than his head; obnoxiously cheerful, but lost his temper easily. His attitude often ended in skirmishes with his classmates and hardly ever impressed the girls. Kari's patience and sweet disposition instantly drew him to her side. She was able to keep him level-headed and she had a talent for gently bringing light to his bad habits. And for her, he'd do anything.

Kari had always thought of Davis as a younger brother, despite the fact they were the same age. She wasn't surprised at his jealousy when he met TK for the first time. She had developed a relationship with the blonde that surpassed all her friendships. They had faced danger and death together; TK protected her from harm at his own expense. Davis was still just a child.

Then he became one of the Chosen. Kari watched him slowly change from an obsessive, hot-headed, careless child into a courageous and passionate leader who would do anything to protect his friends. Over time he befriended TK and accepted their relationship with stride, although he did still make the occasional snide comment at their public displays of affection (which were limited to small, sweet pecks on the lips). Davis continued to sneak in compliments that kept her well aware of his continued interest, but he never tried to tear her and TK apart.

She was the one who did that. That moment in the rain when Davis's heart beat against hers she realized how much she loved the way he loved her. It had been so natural to give in.

TK was shy and sweet and gentle. He touched her softly, like she would break. It was pure and right. When she kissed Davis, passion erupted. They were only 15, (she just recently kissed TK beyond a peck and she wasn't sure if Davis had ever kissed a girl before) but the way he touched her that day was as if he had experience beyond his years. It scared her to feel the way he made her feel. She often wondered what would have happened if she hadn't stopped them.

She wanted Davis's passion; it had felt so good to have someone unable to contain himself around her. TK always held himself back. She had used Davis in an unforgivable way, allowing her own selfish desires and hormones to take control. The look in his eyes when her conscience returned to her that day was when she realized he was truly in love with her.

It made the pain of her selfishness unbearable.

She glanced at TK, who had started talking to his brother in a low voice. When she thought of her future, it was always him in her dreams. She didn't want to live her life without him. She wanted to be with him, allowing their passion to grow until the moment she had with Davis paled in comparison. She knew that TK was gentle and slow with her because they were young and he wanted to do things right. He did it for her.

He was everything she needed.

"Kari?" Sora's voice broke her from her thoughts.

She realized she had been standing at the pantry for awhile now and she closed the door.

Sora watched her carefully for a moment. The bearer of Love had become increasingly intuitive as she grew older, especially regarding matters of her crest. She looked at Kari as if she had read her entire train of thought.

"Tai's worried about you," she said.

Kari glanced at her brother who was chatting with Ken about his theories of the world they were in. Tai met her eyes, looking a little sheepish. She turned away ashamed; she hadn't meant to worry him.

"I'm ok," she replied, turning back to Sora. "Just daydreaming."

"I think that's what he's worried about," Sora responded, a knowing look in her eyes. She gently pulled Kari away from the rest of the group. "Don't let what happened diminish your light. We need you."

She sighed when Kari looked even guiltier. "What I mean is we all make mistakes. We've all done stupid selfish things. Don't let your mistake turn you into something you're not. We need you to be you."

Kari nodded in obedience and forced a smile on her face. "You're right."

Sora smiled back and gave her a hug. "Things are going to be ok. We're going to find the others and get out of here."

"Is everyone ready to go?" Tai's voice broke them apart.

They had decided, after some debate, that it was best to see if TK's memory expanded to other places in the digital world. Ken thought that since everyone hadn't been sucked into their individual dreams, it was likely the others had also been pulled into his memories. TK had looked uncomfortable with the idea, but admitted that most things that had replayed in his mind took place in the digital world. It was possible that they could find everyone again.

"We're as ready as we can be with no supplies and no idea where we're going," Matt replied, looking less than pleased. He had voiced that they should stay put for the night.

It had seemed like a good idea to sleep under the cover of shelter, but Sora, Tai, TK and Kari had all opposed him. They remembered all too well how easily this place had been destroyed and they didn't want to risk TK's memories replaying completely.

"We're going to go west," Tai said.

"To the desert?" Sora asked. Escaping from the desert was what had brought them to Machinedramon's city in the first place.

Tai nodded, although he looked apprehensive. "It's the only way we remember. Who knows if anything else even exists?" he paused, noticing the grave looks that passed over his friends' faces. "At least we have plenty of water this time." He shouldered a bag filled with containers of water, trying to sound cheerful. No one wanted to mention the lack of food.

As they exited the mansion and entered the city, Kari fell into step beside TK. To her surprise he gently grabbed her hand, but he kept his gaze on the road ahead. "It's nice being here with you again."

She hated that her mind wandered to Davis, wondering if he was the reason TK was glad to be reliving the past.

* * *

There was only one other time in her life she could remember Davis _not _gorging his food down in less than five minutes. He had come to school that morning looking pale and threw up all over the cafeteria floor after taking only a small bite of a rice ball. They were still in primary school then and Iori had been the only one mature enough (despite that he was the youngest) to risk helping the puking kid to the nurse's office. He was out sick for a few days, recovering from a nasty stomach virus.

Now Davis picked at the eggs she had cooked, chewing them slowly. She had finished her plate some time ago and was watching him warily, waiting in suspense to see if the food was going to come back up all over the dining room table.

"So, what happened to everyone else?" he asked. He had put down his chopsticks in order to take a sip of tea.

Yolei was relieved that he was talking again. Davis had been eerily silent since coming out of the shower. He had changed into a pair of cargo pants and layered a blue t-shirt over a white long-sleeved thermal. His hair still hung low across his forehead. She figured he hadn't been in the mood to mess with gel. Strands were poofing up as they dried, completely out of control.

"I don't know," she replied, joining him in sipping tea. "When the light appeared they left to see if it was a way out. Then they just stopped replying to my messages." She eyed her D-Terminal on the table. She still hadn't heard anything from the others. When she did hear from them again, she was going to give them a piece of her mind. Her heart still raced with anxiety at the thought of being alone in the black world.

Davis picked up a piece of toast, nibbling on the edge. He seemed to be contemplating her answer. "Why were you crying?"

That surprised her. "What?"

"You've got mascara all over your face." With his free hand he ran a finger down his own face, emulating tears.

She took off her glasses, trying to wipe away her ruined make-up. "Shut up," she mumbled, sounding defeated.

"Did something else happen?"

She kept wiping at her eyes, trying to keep the tears from flooding back.

"No."

He looked skeptical, but only chewed slowly on another bite of toast. After he swallowed, he spoke up again. "You're wet."

Yolei had almost forgotten. When the light had engulfed them, she had been hysterical. The pouring rain had lifted her from her stupor and woken Davis from his blackout. Apparently he was still too drunk at that time to remember her helping him stumble into the house or remove his soaking shirt and boots (she had been too mortified to help the inebriated teen out of his pants) before she put him to bed. Taking care of him had taken her mind off the pain she had felt. She hadn't even thought of taking care of herself.

"My sister has some clothes that might fit you."

Yolei doubted that. Jun was shorter and curvier than she was, but even if the clothes didn't fit right it would be nice to wear something warm and dry, not to mention getting out of her ridiculous mini-skirt.

She replaced her glasses on her nose and thanked him before heading to Jun Motomiya's room. The door opened with an obnoxious creak. When she went inside, something seemed wrong somehow. From the times Yolei hung out at the Motomiya residence she remembered Jun's room being filled with posters of the Teenage Wolves and various other boy bands. There had been girly knick knacks and clothes lying on the floor. Now it was strangely bare.

She made her way to the dresser only to find it completely empty.

"Davis?"

When he didn't answer, she realized her voice only had come out in a whisper.

"Daisuke!"

She heard him come barreling down the hallway and he skid into the room, looking panicked. When he noticed her just standing there, he looked annoyed.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

Maybe she had screamed his name too loud the second time. She ignored him and started pulling drawers open one by one, each empty. When she met his eyes, he looked shocked.

"Where's all her stuff?" Davis was staring at the room, confused. That stupid flowery comforter was still draped over her bed. He had remarked once to Yolei that it looked like something his grandma would have used. Otherwise, only Jun's furniture remained, although even the furniture seemed plainer than Yolei had remembered it.

"Your room looked normal. What happened to hers?" she asked. By normal, of course, she meant it looked like a tornado had passed through and spread everything Davis owned onto his floor.

He sat on Jun's bed and put his head in his hands. Yolei unconsciously took a step backward in case he was going to puke again. She hated vomit.

"I don't remember her stuff."

"What?" She wasn't sure what he was getting at.

"I think," he paused and looked up at her like he was afraid to continue.

"You think what, Davis?"

"I think we're in my memory."

Yolei became extremely uneasy. "What do you mean?"

He swallowed heavily. "Before I woke up, I was dreaming of a memory. After me and Kari," he paused, not wanting to elaborate on what they both already knew. "I was on my balcony and it was raining like this."

"How would that explain your sister's stuff being missing?"

He shrugged. "I avoid coming in here as much as possible. I don't really remember any of her stuff except this ugly comforter."

Yolei leaned against the dresser, looking thoughtful. After the light, she had relived her own memories before she found herself on Davis's balcony. It felt almost as if they had been plucked from her mind. They played out in no particular order and they weren't necessarily things she had been thinking about recently. If this was a memory they were in, she wondered why it was his.

"You _are_ really unobservant. There was food and stuff in the kitchen, though."

Davis looked offended. "I like to cook."

"And eat," she said, a light-hearted smile forming on her face.

He looked ill. "Usually."

"You should try to finish your food."

Davis waved her off with his hand and stood up. On his way back to the kitchen, Yolei saw him walk into his bedroom. She paused for a moment before he returned with a fluffy green robe.

"Here." He looked uncomfortable as he handed it to her. "You should put your clothes in the dryer before you get sick."

Yolei's cheeks burned at his tender gesture.

"Maybe you should wash your face too. You look like crap."

She smacked him in the face with his own robe, wishing it was hard enough to leave a mark.

* * *

As they traveled through the forest, Joe noticed that it was oddly silent. The digital world was a place where digimon ruled rather than humans, but it and Earth shared the same smaller animals. Fish, birds, squirrels; he grimaced as he remembered eating squirrel the first time. When they were children trapped in the digiworld, Tai had caught one with a makeshift slingshot and proudly handed it over to Agumon for cooking.

This time, however, nothing moved. Not only did this replica of the digital world lack digimon, it seemed to lack any other sort of life as well.

Iori seemed to notice his distress. "Are you ok, Joe?"

"I'm just trying to figure out why nothing seems to be living here."

The younger boy nodded. "It's so quiet. I was wondering the same thing."

"I wish Palmon was here," Mimi murmured. She had seemed sad ever since their arrival.

Both boys nodded in agreement, thinking of their own digital partners. Joe couldn't help but worry about what would happen if something alive were to greet them. Without their digimon, they were virtually defenseless.

"We should think of setting up camp soon," Iori said, glancing at the setting sun.

"Good idea, Iori," Joe replied as his stomach growled loudly. He blushed. "It's probably about time we had something to eat, too," he added sheepishly.

"That looks like a good place to sleep," Mimi spoke up. She was pointing to what looked like a small cave ahead.

They all agreed and cut through some dense brush in order to make it to the cave. It was barely large enough to cover the three of them. Joe had to duck in order to fit, but it would be perfect to sleep in and they could build a small fire to keep warm. He took a seat on a fallen tree just outside the cave and let his bag fall to the ground. He pulled out three snack bars, handing one to each of them.

"Sorry I don't have anything else."

A warm smile appeared on Mimi's face. "What would we do without you?"

He blushed.

They ate their bars before the boys went off to collect firewood. When they returned Mimi had gathered some dried brush to use as bedding and now she sat on the log, rubbing her sore feet. Joe tried not to redden as he noticed the tears in her stockings.

"If I had known we'd be in the digiworld again, I would've worn my flats," she whined.

Iori was building up the wood for a fire. "You don't happen to have matches, do you, Joe?"

He looked embarrassed as he pulled a lighter from his bag.

"You really do have everything in there, don't you?" Mimi joked.

Joe was glad she seemed to be in better spirits. "After being dragged into different dimensions enough times, I like being prepared."

Iori had gotten the fire going. Its light flickered across Mimi's face, sparkling in her light brown eyes. Joe turned away, trying not to stare at her beauty.

"I hope the others are ok," she said.

"Me too."

Joe, being the oldest, took the first watch that night. The only sound in the forest was the crackling fire and the soft breaths of his companions as they slept. In the past, the sound of animals in the forest at night would have him on edge, wondering if something bigger than squirrels or owls were out there. This eerie silence had him even more nervous. How could there be nothing? He strained himself to hear a sound.

A breeze rustled a few leaves and he calmed. At least there was something that seemed alive, even if it was just the weather.

He was concentrating so hard on the forest that he almost screamed when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Mimi whispered when he jumped.

He put a hand over his racing heart and tried to steady his breathing. "It's ok," he squeaked out.

They both looked back at Iori, who remained asleep.

Joe glanced at his watch. "You still have an hour."

Mimi sat down on the log next to him. His blazer was draped over her shoulders. He had given it to her earlier, insisting he was too warm.

"I can't sleep," she said, yawning. Her normally perfect hair was tangled from lying on the ground. Without thinking, Joe reached over to smooth it out.

"Joe?"

Her sweet voice made him pull his hand back, embarrassed. "Hmm?"

"I think I'm going to move back to Japan."

"You are?"

She nodded before looking out into the forest. "Next summer, after I finish high school."

"What about Michael?" He hadn't meant to ask about the American chosen child, but he couldn't help but be curious. Michael and Mimi had been dating on and off for a few years. He was the biggest reason Joe never admitted his feelings to her.

She shrugged. "He's got a new girlfriend now."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be," she replied, turning back to him. A soft smile had formed on her face. "I didn't think we'd ever really work out. I miss everyone back home so much. I miss Japan."

"I thought you liked New York."

"I do, but it's so lonely there."

He raised an eyebrow. "Lonely in New York?"

She laughed softly. "Yeah, I know its silly, but I feel alone without the rest of the Chosen there. Michael and Wallace aren't the same. We've gone through so much more together."

"It's lonely in Japan without you."

The blush that covered Joe's face when the words escaped his lips made him feel hot in the cool night. He had turned once again to the forest, avoiding her gaze.

After a moment he felt cool, soft lips against his cheek.

When he looked, Mimi's face was flushed and radiant in the firelight.

"I've missed _you_, Joe."

Their first kiss was cautious and tender and everything he had ever wanted.

* * *

_The sewers beneath Machinedramon's city were dark and damp like his mood._

_Agumon and Tentomon were exhausted. If he admitted it to himself, so was he, but how could he rest when Kari could be out there dying?_

_Izzy was getting upset with him. "I'm pretty tired too, Tai. Why don't we rest? Then we can commence our search again."_

_Tai clenched his fists. "Don't you understand? Kari's sick. We have to find her!"_

_"I know that, Tai. But she's not here right now."_

_He turned on the redhead. "That's my point! We have to find her _now_!"_

_"Calm down, Tai," Agumon said, desperate to diffuse the situation._

_Unfortunately, Izzy had to push him. "I'm warning you, Tai! You better stop giving us orders, or else!"_

_"Or else what?" He immediately ran and threw Izzy to the ground. He raised his hand to throw a punch… and stopped when tears started streaming down the redhead's face. Instantly Tai knew something was wrong. This wasn't how it happened. He couldn't ever remember seeing Izzy cry._

_"Help me, Tai." Izzy's voice was strained and older._

_Tai was speechless. Fear gripped him. "Izzy, where are you?"_

_He shook his head in response. "I don't know." Suddenly his dark eyes darted sideways as if something were coming toward them._

_"How am I supposed to help you? Tell me!" Tai's voice became frantic._

_The only response from Izzy was pure terror._

Tai bolted up from his sleep, covered in sweat. He looked around, desperate for some sign of the bearer of Knowledge.

"Tai, are you ok?" Sora whispered.

She had taken the first watch that night. The group was sleeping beneath the shelter of a bus stop in the middle of the desert (ah, the strangeness of the digital world). It was pitch black. Bright moonlight was the only thing that allowed Tai to see the concern stretched across Sora's face. She sat down beside him.

"It's Izzy," he murmured, breathing heavily. "He's in trouble."

"Tai," she placed a hand on his shoulder to steady him. "It was just a dream."

He shook his head fervently as if in disagreement. After a moment of heavy breathing, he calmed himself. "I'm just really worried about him."

"I know," she said. "We all are."

They sat for a moment in silence before Tai spoke up. "Why would it take Izzy?"

"Something took all of us."

"Iori said that Tentomon and Izumi-san heard a voice. We haven't heard or seen anything but each other. There's nothing out here. Something's with Izzy and it took him first."

Sora looked thoughtful. "Maybe he discovered something. He's always working on programs for the digital world."

"Do you think this is another dimension?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. It looks like the digital world, but it's too quiet."

The silence enveloped them.

"What did you dream about?" Tai asked, head tilting with a sideways glance.

Sora blushed. "What do you mean?"

"We all dreamed of something before we got here. I was just wondering what yours was," he explained, sounding hesitant this time.

She stood up suddenly. "I don't remember. Goodnight, Tai."

He sighed, watching her return to her post. He lied back down in the desert sand and closed his eyes, hoping that this time he would dream of her.

* * *

By the time they had gathered supplies and Yolei's clothes were almost done in the dryer, darkness had come upon them. With no clue where to begin their search, they had decided to stay in Davis's apartment that night. They would begin their journey tomorrow.

Davis couldn't sleep. A hangover still kept his stomach queasy and his head pounding. Ken really should've kept him from drinking so much. He fidgeted for awhile before finally kicking the covers off angrily. Maybe his memory was vivid enough that the television would still work.

Just as he sat up to put on his slippers, a soft knock came from his door. Apparently Yolei couldn't sleep either.

Davis stood up and dragged himself across his room, kicking dirty clothes out of the way. When he opened the door Yolei stood on the other side looking flustered and embarrassed. She was wearing one of his t-shirts and seemed lost in a pair of pajama pants he had let her borrow. He was barely taller than her (he had only outgrown her this past year), but she was thin as a rail. Her glasses were missing from her face and he could tell by her red, puffy eyes that she had been crying again.

"What's the matter?" His voice came out harsher than he had meant it to. He wasn't angry at her; it wasn't like she had woken him up. He was just aggravated in general.

Yolei winced. "I'm scared."

Davis really tried hard not to burst out laughing, but a snort must've pushed its way out his nose because she glared at him angrily. She didn't retaliate however. Instead she just stood there looking helpless.

"What are you afraid of?"

She shook her head. "I don't want to be alone."

When her gaze turned to the floor he figured it was the most he was going to get out of her. What had happened after he blacked out? She hadn't been herself since they got here. Granted, he had seen her cry before (more times than he could count); she had always been a bit over-emotional. But now she seemed downright depressed. It unnerved him.

"You're not alone," he said, trying to comfort her. "Jun's bedroom is right next to mine."

Without warning, she started bawling.

Davis took a step backward, shocked. "Hey, it's ok, Yolei. Don't cry." He wasn't sure what to do when she just kept going, tears streaming down her face.

Finally he took her shoulders with his hands and guided her to the living room. She didn't even seem to notice as he sat her on the couch and started fixing some tea. When he returned with the beverage she was still crying like a baby. He sat down beside her, crossing his legs. He held the tea in front of her face and grabbed a tissue from the end table, forcing it in her hand.

The action brought her back to reality and she started blowing her nose, ignoring his look of disgust. She dabbed her eyes and hiccupped back another sob. After a few minutes of getting herself under control, she finally took the tea from his hands.

"Thanks, Davis," she mumbled.

He was watching her carefully, waiting for her to explode again. When she finally sipped her tea, he sighed. "You ok?"

She nodded feebly, wiping away the remainder of her tears.

"You wanna talk about it?"

She shook her head in response, a blush rising on her cheeks.

Davis leaned back and placed his hands behind his head. "You can sleep in my room if you want. Jun's room _is_ kinda creepy. I'll take the couch."

She suddenly looked as if she was going to cry again. He sat up, unfolding his arms from behind his head. Before he could ask her again what was wrong, she clutched onto his arm and stared at him with her tear-filled eyes.

"Don't leave me."

Somehow the way she said it, soft and apprehensive, made his heart melt in sympathy.

"I won't."

This seemed to calm her. They sat in silence until he noticed that the tea was dangling loosely in her hand. He grabbed it and set it on the coffee table, pulled out a throw and draped it around her. He sat there for awhile, listening to the rain pour heavily against the window, before the sound of it and Yolei's soft breathing lulled him to sleep.


	12. The End of the World

**Innocent Games**

(Author's note: I have gotten over 100 reviews for this story! Yay! Special thanks to nerdxx3, Amethyst-Love, and KakiTenshi who have all reviewed my last few chapters. You guys have kept me on a roll! I hope this chapter keeps you happy and wanting more! For those of you reading who haven't left a review please let me know what you think. Any comments are appreciated! Enjoy!)

**Chapter Twelve  
The End of the World**

* * *

He knew this had been a bad idea and it took all his strength and maturity not to tell Tai, "I told you so."

"This was a bad idea," Ken said.

Matt thanked the heavens that someone had said it. He wasn't sure he would have been able to hold his tongue much longer. The late morning sun was beating down on them with such intensity that they were all completely drenched with sweat and even Tai's tan complexion was beginning to turn a bit pink.

"Yeah, I think it was," Tai agreed, wiping his forehead with his sleeve.

Matt felt himself smirk. He was sure that if he had been the one to speak up, Tai wouldn't have been so humble.

"We've got to find some shade," TK spoke up. He was holding Kari's arm. The poor girl looked on the verge of passing out.

Matt wasn't sure what to think about his little brother's relationship with the Child of Light. He had always been fond of Kari, but (he had to admit) he found her intimidating. She was so pure and kind that he felt like she could see his sins. It wasn't that she ever came across as self-righteous; she was more apt to find fault in herself than in others. It was more that there was something otherworldly about her. She had played host to the higher beings of the digital world and sometimes she just seemed to know things. Matt sometimes felt as if her light would expose his darkness.

TK didn't seem to feel that way about her at all. Of course, he was a bright shining ray of hope. He was her counterpart. They were the partners of angels.

When his distraught little brother had called him from France after she kissed Davis, Matt almost didn't believe him. He suddenly saw a new side to Kari. She was human after all. Selfishly he found himself relieved at this revelation. He never told TK, but he felt better knowing she wasn't perfect. Especially once his and Sora's relationship started to slide downhill.

"Kari, are you alright?" Sora's voice still gave him chills.

Kari's silky hair bobbed in front of her sweat soaked face as she nodded. She clutched TK's arm even more tightly. "Just a little tired."

"And hot," TK said for her.

"I'm sorry, Kari," Tai choked, looking upset. "I didn't remember the desert lasting this long."

"That's because Kabuterimon flew us over most of it," Sora reminded him.

It was a part of their journey that Matt hadn't been a part of. Instead he had left the group in the middle of their battle with the dark masters after listening to Cherrymon's lies.

"It looks like there's another bus stop up ahead," Ken said, squinting into the sun.

The image of the stop danced in the heat like a mirage.

Everyone's spirits seemed to rise at the prospect of shade and a place to rest. Even Kari seemed to get a little spring in her step, relying less on TK's strength to hold her steady.

When they reached the bus stop, everyone collapsed on the long bench beneath the shelter. Matt took a sip of water from his hot bottle before pulling a cigarette and lighter from his pocket.

Sora spoke up after he took his first drag. "How can you smoke that in this heat?"

It was the longest sentence she had spoken to him since their breakup. She had already made it clear that she disapproved of his new habit in less verbal methods; coughing loudly, waving her hand in front of her face, even shaking her head in disappointment. Matt knew it bothered her. If he was honest with himself that was one of the biggest reasons he had decided to pick it up. Sora was athletic. She drank water over soda, she got the right intake of all five food groups, and she hated smoke.

His eyes narrowed. "You'd be amazed at what you can get used to."

She looked like she had been struck and he instantly regretted his words.

"_I feel like we're together just because we're used to being together," she said, her gaze focused on the ground. _

"_What are you trying to say, Sora?"_

_She looked up at him, tears swimming in her auburn eyes. "I think we should break up."_

_He felt his heart harden, but he only shrugged and looked away. "Ok."_

He turned from her and took a long drag on the cigarette. He knew he should apologize, but he just couldn't bring himself to.

"Matt? Can I talk to you for a second?" Tai was standing in front of him, looking sheepish.

Matt stood up, puffing out smoke. "Sure, Tai. What's up?"

The shorter boy started walking away from the shelter and he followed him instinctively.

"We shouldn't have come this way," Tai said. When they were out of hearing distance of the others his sheepish expression turned to one of despair. "I'm an idiot."

"Not going to argue with you there."

Tai didn't grace his playful comment with a response or even a mock punch. He looked really upset. "I'm worried about Kari. Last time we were here she got really sick."

"She's a big girl now, Tai. I'm sure she'll be fine after some rest."

The brunette shook his head. "I don't know what to do, Matt. If we turn back, there's only a city with no food and no other way out. If we keep going this way… I'm not sure how far west this desert goes on foot. Kabuterimon was so fast, I just don't know. I'm just worried Kari will-"

Matt put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Nothing's going to happen to Kari," he reassured. He glanced back at the shelter where his brother was handing the girl in question another water bottle. She looked flushed and tired, but otherwise better now that she was in the shade. He turned back to Tai. "Listen, I think we should go north."

"Why?"

"When we split up I crossed the lake near primary village and I could see the city. It was south, maybe a little southeast from there. I think it's closer than the west side of this desert."

"What if you're wrong?"

Matt shrugged and puffed on his cigarette. "We can pray TK has another dream."

Tai didn't seem to like that answer. "I'm serious, Matt."

"I'm not wrong, Tai. The lake is north of here. We've already gone far west enough that I think we'll run right into it if we change direction now."

Their leader watched him for a moment before he finally nodded. "All right, north it is," he said, a goofy grin suddenly appearing on his face. "It's got to be cooler than here anyway."

When they informed the rest of the group of their decision, there were mixed reactions. Ken looked the most concerned.

"What if TK's memories don't go north?"

"I've been to the lake before," TK said.

Ken nodded, but still looked wary. "My only concern is that this memory we are in is connected to a certain point in time. If you weren't at the lake during that period, I just wonder…"

"I don't think we'll fall off the face of the earth, Ken," Tai said, slapping the younger boy's back.

He looked embarrassed.

Most everyone else seemed excited about the prospect of escaping the desert sooner, especially if it meant they had a better chance at finding some food. After they were all well rested, they turned north.

Matt noticed that Sora had dropped to the back of the group and he slowed until she caught up with him.

"Sora, I'm sorry."

"Hey Ken, wait up!" she suddenly called, ignoring him completely. "I wanted to ask you something."

She trotted away from him and started a conversation with Ken, asking him to finish the thought that Tai had interrupted.

Matt sighed and found himself wishing they _would_ find the end of the earth.

So he could jump off it.

* * *

Iori found himself wishing he hadn't chased after the light with Joe and Mimi.

It wasn't that he didn't like his predecessor or the bubbly bearer of Sincerity. He just felt left out. And that wasn't because they were exclusive. In fact, they both made every effort to talk with him as they hiked through the deserted forest. Maybe that was what clued him in. They were trying too hard.

He could tell the dynamic of their trio had changed overnight. Joe and Mimi were two of the original chosen children; they fought battles when he was still in preschool. But ever since he woke up that morning he could tell something else bonded them together besides their previous time in the digital world. Yesterday they had been holding hands. Now they walked on either side of him, but the looks they gave each other were so obvious that any idiot could tell they had finally admitted their feelings to one another. Iori felt like a third wheel.

He also felt extremely guilty for leaving Yolei alone. Despite the fact that she was three years his senior, he had always taken it upon himself to look after her. She was extremely intelligent, but she was also a bundle of emotions that constantly leapt out of control. She often didn't think before she acted (which got her into trouble on more than one occasion) and suffered from severe anxiety (something that only he and Hawkmon seemed able to subdue). Iori hated to think how she had felt when they never came back. They had left her alone with Davis, who was completely inebriated. She probably had a heart attack.

Iori hoped she was somewhere safe and far from the black world by now and that Davis was sober and taking care of her. Although, to be honest, he feared for their leader's safety handling the youngest Inoue alone. He hoped they weren't tearing each other's heads off.

"Are you ok, Iori?"

Mimi's sweet voice pulled him from his thoughts.

He smiled apologetically at her. "I'm just thinking about Yolei and Davis."

She looked to Joe. Iori could tell his words had upset her.

"Don't worry, Mimi," Joe said. His dark eyes were soft as he spoke to her, trying to calm her fears. "They've both been in the digital world on their own before. They can handle themselves until we find them again."

"I'm more concerned about them handling each other," Iori said.

Mimi suddenly brightened. "I'm sure they're doing just fine."

Both Joe and Iori looked at her in disbelief.

"Maybe you _have _been in America too long, Mimi," Joe replied. "We have to pry those two apart with a crowbar when they go at it."

His comment caused Mimi to erupt into a fit of giggles and Iori found his cheeks turning hot with embarrassment when he realized her misinterpretation.

Joe was also turning a shade of pink. "You know what I mean," he stammered, looking mortified.

Still laughing, Mimi wiped giddy tears from her eyes. "Oh, I know, Joe!" she squeaked before bursting into another round of laughter.

As she continued to giggle and tease Joe about his wording, Iori once again found himself wishing he wasn't with them. But this time he thought he'd rather be with Tai's group instead of with Yolei and Davis. Just in case.

* * *

"Have you gone absolutely insane?"

The only response to her terrified cry was a whoop of laughter.

Yolei was gripping the leather seat beneath her so ferociously that her nails had made permanent claw marks in the otherwise flawless material. She looked at Davis with a mixture of hatred and fear. They were flying down the streets of Tokyo in a sports car he had stolen from the parking garage in his apartment complex (although Davis had claimed it wasn't stealing since there was no one in this world to steal it from). She was sure that the speedometer put them well over a hundred miles an hour. She was terrified.

Davis, on the other hand, looked like he was having the time of his life.

They had spent the morning packing supplies from his house into the back of the stolen vehicle. There was enough food, spare clothes (for Davis anyway, Yolei had despairingly changed back into her party attire), and first aid to last them a couple of days. The plan was to check out the other Chosen Children's homes to see if anyone else had ended up in this fake real world. Then, if that didn't work out, they were going to see if they could find a portal to the digiworld.

Davis insisted on driving. He had been eyeing his neighbor's car since he was in primary school and had memorized every single detail of it. Yolei begrudgingly handed him the keys (which had been strangely left in the ignition) after groaning about how he wasn't even old enough to drive.

Not only was he not old enough for a license, but she was pretty sure he had never driven a single day in his life.

"You're going to kill us!" she shrieked.

"Relax, Yolei!" Davis shouted over the sound of the motor and the heavy rain that splashed against the windows. "No one's on the road!"

It wasn't other cars she was worried about. Anyone (who wasn't as moronic as Daisuke Motomiya) would know better than to attempt these speeds on a flooded street. She was going to die.

"You passed Kari's house!" She hoped that would slow him down.

Instead, she felt the car accelerate even more.

"I'm too young to die!"

She sincerely thought of slapping him, but realized that would only help aid in a quicker death. She closed her eyes and prayed. Suddenly the tires screeched and she felt the car swerve, doing a complete one eighty before finally coming to a stop.

Davis hollered like he had just scored a goal and looked at her with a huge grin on his face. "That was awesome."

She looked at him in disbelief. "I hate you so much."

He just laughed and jumped out of the car.

She slowly loosened her grip on the seat and tried to steady her breathing. She was alive. She silently thanked whoever heard her prayer.

A loud bang on her window made her scream and her heart start racing all over again. The car door opened and Davis was laughing at her, holding an umbrella.

"Come on, we're at your place," he said. He looked so damn cheerful.

Yolei glared at him. "I like you better when you're hung over."

He rolled his eyes.

She slowly unbuckled her seatbelt and joined him under the umbrella. The rain was so heavy it almost sounded like hail. Yolei shivered and pulled her sweater tightly around her as they made their way into her apartment complex. When they were under shelter, Davis closed the umbrella and shook off the excess water as they waited for the elevator.

The Inoue's lived on the seventh floor. Yolei wasn't superstitious, but she always liked pushing the seven on the elevator. It made her feel like her home was somewhere special. When they slipped off their shoes and stepped inside her apartment a sense of dread came over her. Normally it was filled with her parents and three siblings. It was so quiet.

Davis threw the car keys on the kitchen counter and stretched before plopping down on her couch. "You gonna get your stuff?" He was eyeing her outfit and she inwardly cursed Mimi for her choice of wardrobe.

"Do you remember my stuff?" she asked.

The carefree expression on his face seemed to dissipate. He started looking around her apartment, studying it. "Your slippers are by the door."

She turned back to where she had taken off her heels and saw her slippers. They were light pink with yellow stars and sitting on the top of a pile of shoes and slippers belonging to the rest of her family. That seemed right.

She slipped them on her feet and turned back to Davis. His cocky grin had returned and she resisted the urge to throw something at him. Instead, she started toward her room.

When she opened the door things seemed the same. Her stuffed animals were on her bed. The little basket that Poromon slept in was at the foot, empty. She stared at it for a moment, her heart aching for her digital partner. Yolei turned from her bed and was about to open her dresser when she noticed the first thing that was off.

She screamed.

She didn't even hear Davis enter her room until he was beside her, yelling.

"Yolei, answer me!"

He must've been asking her what was wrong. Yolei turned to him and pointed to a picture on her dresser. She saw his eyes widen in shock.

The faces of her family were twisted. Inhuman blobs molded together. She couldn't even tell who was who. As she looked around the room she noticed all her photos were distorted. Some of them were missing altogether. Things that decorated her room were either wrong or gone. Her shaky hand opened her dresser only to find an empty drawer.

"This is weird," Davis said.

Without even thinking, she slapped him. He held his hand to his already bruised face, dazed.

"This is all your fault!" she screamed.

Now he looked angry. He pulled his hand from his cheek. "How is this my fault?"

"You and your stupid memory! Everything's wrong. Everyone's gone. I want my family back! I want my clothes back! I want to go home! I hate it here!" Yolei felt tears try to escape her eyes. She clenched her teeth in an effort to hold them back and stormed past Davis out of her bedroom.

She snatched the car keys off the kitchen counter, grabbed a pair of her shoes by the door, and walked across the complex hallway in her slippers straight to Iori's apartment. She could hear Davis behind her, putting on his boots and grumbling under his breath about hormonal women.

Out of habit, Yolei knocked on the door. When no one answered she tried the knob.

The door opened to a world of black.

* * *

He sucked in a sharp, pained breath. It felt like he had been violently pulled back inside his body.

It was incredulous to think that he had been outside his body. In the past he would have figured this sensation to be a side-effect of delirium, but now he didn't know what to believe.

He ached all over. It was more mental than physical.

The darkness had returned.

"Your theory was correct, Izumi," the hot deep voice said to him.

He could feel its presence just ahead of him. What theory? He couldn't even remember talking to this monster.

"What?" Izzy felt his own voice choke out the word. It was as if he hadn't spoken for ages.

"The creation of a world."

The clicking sound of claws moved to his left. The sound of steady breathing still surrounded him. He tried in vain to see his surroundings, but there wasn't a trace of light. If only he could get his bearings, maybe he could find a way out of here.

"My program?" he asked suddenly. The memory seemed to click into place in his mind like a puzzle piece.

"No," the monster chuckled. "That was only the beginning. Now, I have lives to use."

The answer terrified him. "Don't!"

"I already have."

The breaths surrounding Izzy bore down on him until he was thought his own breathing would cease.

* * *

Their group had fallen silent.

Her thoughts wavered like the reflection of the sun on the sand. Her feelings were like a mirage in her mind. She wondered if the happiness she had known in the past had ever taken place. Or if the sorrow she felt now even had a reason to exist.

Time seemed nonexistent in the never ending heat.

"You look like you could use a drink." She could hear the smile in his voice.

Sora grabbed the bottle from Tai's hand gratefully. "You have no idea." She took a sip of the warm water and wiped away a drop that had dribbled down her chin. She grinned at him as she handed it back. "It's a little weak."

Tai chuckled before taking his own sip. As he lowered the bottle, he grimaced. "No kidding. And warm. Totally not thirst-quenching."

They fell silent once again. It took too much energy to talk.

It was well into the hottest part of the day. Everyone was tired and hungry. Sand had poured into Sora's shoes and rubbed between the skin of her legs and her sweat-soaked jeans. She glanced at Kari, envious of her loose flowing skirt. She looked ahead at the endless desert and decided it was better to retreat back into her thoughts than face her discomfort.

Of course, her thoughts trailed to the blonde that now trudged just ahead of her, his piercing blue eyes downcast. She wished desperately that things could go back to the way they used to be between them. When they could joke or fight and it wouldn't matter, back when they were still just friends.

The longer they dated the more personal everything became. It made sense. Relationships were supposed to be like that, weren't they? You hurt the ones you love the most. The problem wasn't the pain though. She and Matt had their ups and downs. Good times were good, bad times were bad. Things weren't perfect, but what relationship was?

The problem was that Sora never felt comfortable. Despite their intimate moments (long talks about their hopes and fears, soft kisses and passionate make-out sessions, shy smiles and exuberant reunions), Sora always felt like she wasn't completely herself around him.

When they had started high school, they had noticed things about each other that they never noticed before. She was attracted to his exotic look (derived from his European heritage) and his soulful music. He had grown up to be less of a recluse and more forgiving (of both his mother and his friends). Matt had noticed how shapely Sora's legs were when she started wearing skirts and how sweet and feminine she had grown to be now that she had accepted the love of her mother. These new attributes were what made them start dating in the first place.

But they hadn't changed completely. Sora still loved soccer and being a tomboy, even though she had taken on tennis. Matt still needed time to brood even though he enjoyed the company of friends. They kept these older parts of their personalities stored away, as if they were secrets to keep from one another.

Sora felt like they were never truly themselves. Not like they should be if their relationship was going to last. They had been dating almost four years, but it felt like they never moved beyond that first year. They were still on their best behavior, putting on a show. Shouldn't she be able to sit in silence with him without feeling awkward? Why was it that he couldn't practice his music without her feeling the need to watch and praise him? And she couldn't come up with a new floral design without him telling her how beautiful it was (not to match her own beauty, of course)?

When she had talked to Mimi about it, the younger girl had told her she was crazy. Mimi thought their relationship sounded like every girl's dream come true. What girl wouldn't want a guy who still brought her flowers for no reason, who made time and effort to praise everything she did?

Maybe she was crazy, but Sora wasn't Mimi Tachikawa and she certainly wasn't every girl. She wanted a guy who would sometimes forget their anniversary, someone who could sit in the same house with her all day without feeling the need to make his presence known; she wanted someone she didn't feel like she needed to impress. She wanted someone more like her best friend.

That was where the real problem came in. She was beginning to realize that she didn't really want someone _like_ her best friend. She actually wanted her best friend.

She glanced at Taichi Yagami and wondered if he had ever really wanted her. Back when he seemed interested in moving their friendship to the next level, she had thought it would be weird. Sure, she had imagined herself with Tai on occasion. When they were little, she even thought they would get married someday. But once they were old enough to start dating, she couldn't think of him as anything more than a friend. The "spark" wasn't there. In the movies, it was the magic that let you know you were in love. She had felt that "spark" with Matt. Her heart jumped out of her chest whenever she met his icy blue eyes. She heard his songs and wished he had written them for her. She assumed she was falling in love with him.

She had heard from older married couples that the spark would eventually die out, that you had to put in effort to keep it alive. The odd thing was it never died out with Matt. His eyes still made her heart beat quickly and butterflies flutter around her stomach. He made her nervous.

She knew it was ironic that the words she chose to break up with him had to do with being "used to being together." How could constant butterflies in her stomach be something she could get used to? The key word was constant. Their relationship remained unchanged. She wanted it to grow into something more than sweaty palms and butterflies. She wanted someone she could be completely at ease with.

She just didn't know if Tai still wanted her. If he had loved her, why didn't he ever fight for her, why didn't he ever let her know? She was embarrassed that suddenly all her thoughts were becoming filled with him. That was why she snapped at him when he asked about her dreams last night. That was why she felt awkward around him now that she was available. It didn't help that he was her ex's best friend and it definitely didn't help that Matt was such a great guy that she couldn't stand to see him in pain.

"Where are we?" Matt's voice pulled her from her thoughts of him back to reality where he stood in front of a black abyss.

The desert sands faded into a distorted mixture of trees and sand that swirled together until only darkness remained.

"I don't remember this," TK said.

It was the last thing any of them heard in the desert before the black world sucked them in.

* * *

They had been walking along winding paths in the forest for hours, stopping occasionally so Mimi could rest her feet. Blisters had formed from her heels which she now carried in her hands. It was slow going without shoes, but Iori and Joe were patient.

Iori's thoughts had drifted from his predicament as a third wheel to more important matters. He was trying to figure out Izzy's connection to this world. The bearer of Knowledge was the only of the older chosen that Iori had grown especially close to. Not only was Izzy his predecessor, but the redhead had spent the most time with the younger chosen children when they had joined the original team.

There were aspects of Izzy's personality that Iori could easily identify with. They were both very private people, keeping their emotions hidden from others. They had both lost parents. Although Izzy had never known his biological mother and father, he had admitted to his protégé that he still mourned them. Iori still had his mother, but he missed his father terribly, despite the fact that he now barely remembered him. He had only been five years old when Hiroki Hida was shot.

Iori and Izzy both would spend countless hours trying to solve a problem, even if for only the sake of subduing their own curiosity. The problem of this world was keeping Iori's mind very busy. Izzy had once told him that he theorized there were many worlds beyond theirs and the digital world. They all were connected in some way. The digital world was correlated directly to the digital data from Earth. He suspected that it was possible Earth was made from the data or some type of connection with another older world.

Only recently did the bearer of Knowledge suggest that he thought it was probable to purposefully create one of these dimensions. He hadn't had the time to explain his theory thoroughly to the younger boy, but he said he was experimenting with the idea. It had become an obsession for him.

"Thank God for the digital world!" Mimi suddenly squealed.

Iori's green eyes focused on the object of her delight. A vending machine was just ahead, nestled between a couple of trees. His stomach suddenly growled at the prospect of food. He hadn't even realized he was hungry.

Joe smiled as the exuberant girl pranced up to the machine and examined its contents.

"Joe?" she asked as she turned back around, batting her lashes.

Iori watched the older boy turn red.

She wiggled her hips slightly, almost in a dance. "You don't happen to have any digi dollars do you?"

Joe pulled the foreign currency out of his bag of tricks and handed it to the girl. She was so excited that she seemed to forget Iori's presence and kissed the college freshman directly on the lips.

Iori averted his eyes, but it was so innocent that by the time he had looked away, it was over and Mimi was happily picking out her snack. Joe met his eyes and looked like he was going to try to explain, but only ended up stammering incomprehensibly.

Mimi saved him from further embarrassment and handed both boys some Pocky. She already had put one of the chocolate coated biscuits in her mouth and was chewing happily. She sat down on a rock and rested her sore feet while Iori helped Joe buy more snacks to add to his bag of supplies.

When they continued their journey, Iori wondered if a girl would ever make him act the way Joe did around Mimi.

He didn't have long to entertain the idea before they came to the end of the world.

At least, that's what _he_ thought the blackness looked like.


	13. A new memory

**Innocent Games**

**Chapter Thirteen  
A new memory**

* * *

When the light pierced the darkness, he felt as if his mind was an old storage closet. Someone was rummaging through the memories, both old and new, that had been stored away so meticulously. He could feel everything being rearranged, picked up and thrown aside, until only one lingered. Like a dream it faded into existence until it was as clear as the day he had lived it.

The smell of flowers was strong.

"_Is there a particular type you are looking for?" asked Sora. Her face was kind and motherly. Sora never seemed awkward when he became silently contemplative. _

"_Well, last year you got the white and red bouquet, right Cody? Maybe we should change it up this time. I mean, does your mom like a particular type of flower?" Yolei, on the other hand, couldn't stand silence. Both Upamon and Poromon peeked out of an enormous shopping bag strung around her shoulder, staring in awe at the plant life surrounding them._

_Iori glanced at her, shaking his head. _

_Sora waited patiently as he looked over the different arrangements in the Takenouchi flower shop. After a few moments, while Yolei and the digimon commented on the beauty of the arrangements, Iori came to a stop in front of a simple bouquet of white lilies._

"_What are these?" he asked._

"_Easter lilies," Sora said. "They're native to Japan, but in the west they're associated with the resurrection of Christ. Or more commonly, hope and purity for the dead."_

_The delicate white flowers seemed to glow between all the colored arrangements._

"_They're beautiful!" Upamon declared, bouncing in the bag._

_Yolei scolded him. "You're going to take my arm off!"_

"_I'll take them."_

_Sora smiled and began preparing the arrangement for the youngest chosen child._

"_They're perfect," Yolei claimed._

_Sora waved as they exited the flower shop. She had only complimented his choice and said goodbye as they left, no attempt at words of consolation. Iori preferred it that way._

_As he and Yolei made their way down the street, a warm summer breeze caused the flowers to dance in his arms._

"_Hey Yolei! Cody!" Davis's energetic voice greeted them. He was waving at them from the other side of the street, a soccer ball under his arm and a duffle bag strung around his shoulder. TK and Kari were behind him, holding grocery bags. When there was a halt in traffic, they came across the street to join them._

"_Hey Cody, what're the flowers for? You got a girlfriend?" Davis teased, grinning._

_Yolei pinched his arm._

"_Ouch! The hell was that for?"_

_Kari smiled gently. "They're for your father, right?"_

_Davis suddenly looked mortified. _

_Iori nodded. "It's his __meinichi."_

_A pair of small red eyes poked out of Davis's bag. "What's a menchi?" chirped Demiveemon._

"_You're stepping on my tail!" Gatomon's voice came from inside the bag, annoyed. It shifted around violently._

"_And my ear!" Patamon's voice joined in._

"_Hey, knock it off! You guys are heavy enough as it is," Davis exclaimed, grimacing._

"_It's the anniversary of someone's death," Iori explained to the duffle bag. In response, the bag became very still._

_TK appeared thoughtful. "Would you like us to come with you?"_

"_I wouldn't want to trouble you," Iori replied, shaking his head. _

"_We were just going to hang out in the park," Kari said, lifting up a grocery bag. "Davis and Demiveemon insisted we bring snacks."_

_The mention of food seemed to brighten Davis from his earlier embarrassment. "Who wants to spend the day at the park without something to eat? All this fresh air makes me hungry!"_

"_Me too!" a voice from his bag cried in excitement._

"_We brought enough to feed an army," TK said. "But I think it might only be enough for the two of them."_

_Davis eyed the groceries. "You're probably right."_

_The group chuckled before Iori broke up the small talk._

"_We should go. I'm meeting my mother and grandfather at the cemetery."_

"_The park can wait. Would it be alright if we joined you?" Kari asked. "I'd like to pay my respects."_

_Iori met her kind eyes, honored by her words. "Yes."_

_Iori's mother and grandfather were waiting at the entrance to the cemetery. His mother was holding Buddhist prayer beads and incense, while his grandfather held a bottle of sake. _

"_Hello Hida-san," Yolei said brightly. "Ojiisan." She had adopted his grandfather as her own years ago._

_The rest of his friends bowed politely. Iori noticed that Davis was shifting around uncomfortably as he eyed the tall gravestones._

"_The flowers are beautiful, Iori," his mother said._

_Yolei's bag seemed to wiggle in delight and she shook it in warning._

"_Thank you, Okaasan." Iori handed the flowers to Yolei before he grabbed a bucket and ladle from the cemetery entrance and filled it with water. _

_The group made their way to Hiroki Hida's grave. It was tall and Iori and his mother's names were written in red beneath his father's._

_Iori removed the old offerings of incense and flowers from the grave and began to wash the stone with the water from his bucket. His friends remained silent. When he was done, Yolei handed him the bouquet. He laid the flowers on the grave while his mother lit incense and kneeled with the prayer beads. She began to recite a sutra. His grandfather offered the sake to his lost son._

_The sutra was soothing and a warm breeze passed through the cemetery, playing with the lilies, making them come to life upon the grave._

_His mother stood, wiping tears from her eyes._

_Kari was the first to speak, bowing to the tombstone. "Thank you for your service, Hida-sama."_

_The rest of his friends echoed her sentiments._

_Iori batted away his own tears. He thought the lilies seemed to dance with pride._

The flowers were still there, fresh and swaying in the breeze. Iori's eyes stung as he stared at them. It had been over two years since he had chosen the Easter lilies to adorn his father's grave. Now they stood before him once again, resurrected.

"We're back!" Mimi cried.

Out of the corner of his eye, Iori saw Joe grab her hand and squeeze it gently. She immediately silenced when she saw the name on the tombstone.

Iori knelt and stared as the last of the incense burned away. Someone had lit it only minutes before, but the cemetery was deathly silent. His father's resting place was the only one with visitors. Even the street nearby was still and free from life.

The red letters of his name beneath his father's glared at him now. He was his only son, his survivor. Sometimes Iori felt like he had never had a father. The memories of his death were always more vivid in his mind than those of his life. What he did remember of his father only made his death harder to bear.

Hiroki Hida had been a lively prankster, full of joy and laughter, accepting of all those around him. In his last moments of life, he had been a hero. Iori remembered that he smiled most as a child in the presence of his father. His mother was warm and loving, but she was quiet and serious, a devout Buddhist woman. It was his father's antics and funny faces that would cause Iori to gurgle with laughter as a toddler. It was his piggy back rides and games of catch that kept Iori frivolous in preschool. When Hiroki was shot, Iori's dominate genes prevailed; he had always been more like his mother. He found himself smiling less and keeping to himself even more. He only broke out of his serious shell in the presence of his older friend, Yolei, who was anything but traditional. She would scold him for his somber demeanor and he would attempt to lighten up.

As he stared at the gravestone, he found himself wishing he had more of his father in him. They didn't even look alike.

He pulled himself from his troubled thoughts and stood, staring at the Easter lilies.

Joe murmured a short Christian prayer, his head bowed.

When he was finished, Iori met his eyes. "Thank you, Joe."

The older boy nodded, a soft smile on his lips.

Mimi visibly shivered, despite the warm summer air. "This isn't really home, is it?"

Iori shook his head. "This is my memory."

* * *

_Everything was beautiful. The warm summer sun kissed her skin and lulled her into a place between dreams and reality. She could hear the others playing on the hot sand or in the waves, enjoying the splendor and privacy the digital world had to offer. Their shouts of joy seemed soft and distant as drowsiness fought to overtake her._

_Could there be anything more peaceful?_

"_Don't we got anything 'sides diet drinks in here?" Davis's voice broke her happy trance. _

_Yolei turned onto her back and pulled down her shades in order to glare at him. His bare torso was almost completely buried in the cooler as he rummaged through the ice in search of a drink. _

_Veemon was imitating his partner, but due to his small size he ended up falling in. He shrieked and, after a small scuffle in the ice, he shot out of the cooler, his sharp teeth chattering. "That's cold!"_

"_Ice usually is," Davis chuckled, standing up. "You didn't happen to see anything good while you were down there, did ya?"_

_Veemon shook his head. "Not unless you like prunes," he replied with a face of disgust. "Last time I drank that stuff I was in the bathroom all night."_

"_That's cause you drank a whole gallon of it," Davis laughed. He turned around, revealing Ken and Wormmon, who were both waiting patiently. "You like diet coke?" he asked the blue-haired boy and his companion. He held up two cans and wrinkled his nose in repulsion._

"_That's fine," Ken replied while Wormmon nodded in agreement. Yolei stared at him as he easily caught the cans that Davis chucked at him, handing one to his partner._

"_Man, Yolei, couldn't you bring anything else to drink 'sides diet soda and prune juice? This sucks!"_

_She pulled her attention from Ken's amazing skill to Davis. "I didn't hear you volunteering to buy the snacks," she huffed. "Those were overstock, so mom let me take them at half-price. I'm not trying to spend all my money feeding your fat face."_

"_Is his face the reason you bought diet drinks, Yolei?" Veemon asked innocently._

"_My face is not fat!" _

_The blue dragon puffed out his cheeks. "This isn't fat?"_

"_Why you little…" Davis tried to grab Veemon, but the monster was too quick and took off giggling._

_Ken chuckled softly and took a seat on the towel next to Yolei. Davis chased his partner into the waves, almost toppling over Hawkmon, who was floating like a seagull on the ocean's surface. _

"_Are you having a good time, Ken?" Yolei asked, trying unsuccessfully to hide the blush that appeared on her cheeks. Water was rolling down his porcelain skin; each droplet seemed to shine brilliantly in the bright sunlight. Ken was tall and thin, with only lean muscles complimenting his frame. He was delicate and absolutely gorgeous._

_He reached over to help Wormmon, who was struggling to open his soda can with his little fingerless appendages. He popped the can open with ease and handed it back to the grateful monster who settled down beside him, content. Ken's dark blue eyes met Yolei's gaze and he smiled softly. "Yes, it's wonderful being able to come here to relax like this." _

"_Ruffians!" Hawkmon cried. _

_Their attention was drawn to the ocean where the bird digimon was being pelted with splashes as Davis dunked Veemon beneath the water in revenge. Hawkmon spread his wings and took off to escape the pair, landing beside his partner and shaking his feathers. "How uncivilized!" _

"_You're getting me wet!" Gatomon hissed at him. She leaped from her spot on a beach chair and curled up on a towel far from the rest of the group._

"_Well, gee," Armadillomon said from where he was helping Iori build a sandcastle. "I think that looks awful fun. Can we swim, Cody?"_

_The youngest chosen child smiled at his partner's enthusiastic tone. "Of course. We can finish the fort later," he said, dusting sand from his knees. The pair ran into the shallow waves where Kari and TK were diving for shells. _

_Patamon was flying above them, trying to spot shiny things beneath the water. "I think Kari got a good one!" he exclaimed._

_Kari came back to the surface just in time to get a mouthful of seawater. "Davis!" she scolded, spitting. _

_Davis stopped pelting Veemon and the blue monster broke out of the water, gasping for air. A sly grin came across the young leader's face and he suddenly grabbed Kari around the waist. She let out a scream before he fell backward into the soft waves, submerging them both. They came up a moment later, Kari sputtering before she splashed water into his face in retaliation._

_Ken and Yolei laughed as TK proceeded to sneak behind Davis and topple him over. Veemon joined in the attack against his partner and Patamon cheered. Kari escaped to continue her search for shells, seeking Iori and Armadillomon's help. _

_Their laughter died down and Ken lied back, placing his hands behind his head. Wormmon curled up beside him. _

_Yolei pushed up her sunglasses and lied next to him, barely suppressing a squeal of delight._

_Laughter, happy shouts, and ocean waves kept them at ease. Their digimon soon fell asleep, worn out from a day of carefree adventure. Big white puffy clouds passed overhead in a speckled blue sky. _

"_They make you feel insignificant," Ken's voice was strained, breaking the silence between them._

_The statement made her heart sting. Yolei turned to him; his dark eyes were focused on the clouds. "What does?" _

_His pale hand reached up. "The clouds, the sky… the immensity of the world."_

_Yolei turned to her side, pulling her sunglasses off her face. "You're not insignificant, Ken," she said. "What use would the world be if there was nothing living in it? And you've helped saved both worlds."_

"_That doesn't matter now."_

_She sat up, feeling upset and hurt. "How can you say that?"_

"_What purpose do we serve now that the digital world is safe?"_

_Yolei puffed out a large breath of air in frustration. "We're still just kids! Who knows what else we might be needed for? Plus, why does there always have to be a purpose to everything? Maybe we're just supposed to live and be happy!"_

_Suddenly Davis came traipsing up to them, pulling his goggles from his eyes and placing them in a mop of wet hair. "Is Ichijouji in one of his moods again?" he asked, grinning at the boy._

_Ken sat up, looking apologetic. "Sorry, Yolei." _

_Davis smacked him playfully on the back of his head. "Lighten up! We're at the beach, dude!"_

"_Hurry up, Davis!" TK called, a volleyball spinning in his hands._

"_Why? You in a hurry to get destroyed?" he hollered back. He turned back to Ken. "I need you, man. He's talking smack. Says soccer players don't stand a chance volleying. Damn cocky baller."_

_Yolei watched as a smile appeared on Ken's face and he pushed himself up, causing Wormmon to shift around restlessly. "Sure, let's show him what we can do."_

_Davis clapped him on the shoulder. "Ha ha! Let's kick some ass."_

_As the pair ran down the beach to join the others for a game of volleyball, Yolei sighed. Davis always seemed to be able to brighten Ken's dark moods. When she felt most at peace and full of joy, Ken had suddenly become depressed. She fell back onto her towel and stared at the puffy clouds as they passed overhead._

_Kari suddenly appeared where Ken had been, rubbing her short hair with a towel. "Boys," she muttered, though there was a humorous tone in her voice. _

_Yolei just kept watching the clouds, Ken's words playing through her mind._

"_Yolei, what's wrong?" Kari's brown eyes were sensitive and sweet, filled with concern. _

_The violet-haired girl forced a smile and placed her sunglasses back over her eyes. "Nothing."_

_Yolei could feel Kari's gaze on her for a few moments before the girl finally lied beside her to soak up the sun. The white clouds seemed enormous now, but as she heard Ken laughing in the distance she realized it wasn't clouds that made her feel insignificant._

Her shoes dropped from her hands, making a soft thudding noise in the sand. The towels, beach chairs, and cooler were where they had been over a year ago. The warm summer sun beat down on her head and a cool ocean breeze caused a volleyball to roll by her feet.

"Holy shit!" Davis cursed. "Was that what happened last time?"

Yolei turned to face him, shock drawn across her face. What was happening to them? Why were their memories coming back to life?

Davis looked uneasy. "You're not going to slap me again, are you?"

"You didn't remember Iori's apartment?" For some reason that seemed to be the first thought that formed on her lips.

He shrugged. "I've only been there once. His mom scares me."

Yolei cracked a smile. Iori's mother was extremely traditional and somber, but very kind once you broke through her formalities. "She's not so bad."

"I touched their Buddha and she yelled at me."

"It's a shrine, Davis. You're not supposed to poke it."

"Aren't you supposed to rub his belly for luck?"

"You can do that at some tourist shrines or with your own statue. You don't just waltz into someone's home and jab your finger into theirs."

"Hey, my family isn't Buddhist. I didn't know," he defended.

Yolei sighed and took off her slippers which were filling with sand. She was grateful that their transition into her memory had allowed them to keep objects from Davis's. She had acquired both her slippers and a pair of tennis shoes. It would have been a pain to keep walking around in heels. She shrugged off her sweater and plopped down on a beach towel.

Davis sat next to her, rolling up the sleeves of his thermal shirt. "So you dreamt of the beach?"

She ignored him, her eyes focused on the waves. The sound of the water lapping onto the sand was soothing, but she couldn't help from feeling a bizarre eeriness. It was so silent. There was no laughter or playful splashing. The only movement was the water and a cool breeze that pushed puffy white clouds across the never ending sky.

"What are we going to do, Davis?" she asked; her heart felt heavy.

"We're in the digital world now, right? Maybe that's where the others are."

Her eyes burned and she took off her glasses, rubbing them. "What if it's just us? What if we're stuck forever like this? We'll never see anyone else again!"

"C'mon, Yolei, don't get all blubbery on me. We'll find everybody. We just gotta start looking better."

She put her glasses back on her face. "I'm not getting blubbery," she sniffed.

"Yes, you are."

She looked down at the sand and started drawing her fingers through it, trying to distract herself from the thoughts that plagued her.

"Hey," Davis said, nudging her with his shoulder. "You thirsty?"

She nodded pitifully. "I guess."

He jumped up and made his way to the cooler. She could hear him shuffling through the ice before cursing under his breath.

"Seriously? You only remembered diet?" he groaned.

Despite the despair that hung around them, she laughed.

* * *

_The warm air from the heater created a gust against her face as she stepped through the door. It helped calm her shivering, but her fingers still twitched in anticipation. She could hear the sounds of instruments being tuned and tested as she followed Gabumon backstage. He was drooling like a dog by the time they finally came to the place the band was set up. Biyomon stayed back with him behind a thick velvet curtain (hiding from the oblivious humans) while Sora nervously took the remaining steps on her own._

"_Hey, do I smell cookies?" the guitar player spoke up, stopping mid-strum._

_Matt turned around, his icy blue eyes meeting her. "Hey, Sora," he greeted, a surprised smile forming on his face._

_Her grip tightened on the gift in her hands and she felt herself shaking again. "Hi, Matt," she murmured, a blush crawling onto her cheeks. "I brought you some-"_

"_MATT!" Jun Motomiya skid backstage, almost bowling over the blonde. His expression immediately turned sour as she held out a present. "I bought you this gift!" she cried, handing it to him. "You're going to do great tonight! I just know it."_

"_Uh… thanks…" he mumbled. He mouthed "sorry" to Sora._

"_Merry Christmas, cutie!" Jun winked. "I'll be waiting for you after the concert."_

_Sora suddenly felt very uncomfortable. She backed up behind the red curtain until she felt something bump against the back of her leg. _

_Biyomon looked up at her, shaking her pink feathered head. "Oh no you don't, Sora. I didn't wait outside that door with you in the cold for nothing. You better give those cookies to Matt!"_

_Gabumon nodded. "I agree! Unless you'd rather give them to me!"_

"_Actually Jun, I already have plans," Sora heard Matt say. _

"_What? But, Matt, you still owe me another date!"_

"_Sorry. Tonight's no good," he declared in a firm voice. "You should probably find your seat. We're going on in five."_

"_Oh ok! I'll call you later and we'll pick a time for our date then!" Jun practically squealed. "Good luck!" She rushed past Sora, completely ignorant of her presence. _

"_Man, that girl can't take a hint!" the guitar player spoke up again, laughing._

_Sora didn't even notice Matt approaching until his hand was on her shoulder. Her heart skipped a beat when she met his gaze._

"_Sora brought you cookies!" Gabumon exclaimed. _

_She handed the box to Matt, smiling shyly. "I made them for you. Merry Christmas."_

_He smiled back, taking the box from her hands. "Thanks. That was really sweet of you."_

"_So, you have plans after the concert?" The words escaped her lips involuntarily._

_Matt chuckled. "Nah, that was just to get Jun off my back." _

_Sora's face grew hot and she wrung her hands together nervously. "Oh."_

"_Matt, they're opening the curtains in two minutes!" called someone from on stage._

_Matt handed the cookies to Gabumon. "Don't eat all those," he warned._

_Sora's eyes lowered shyly. "Good lu-"_

_She was cut off by his hand pushing a strand of loose hair behind her ear. She met Matt's piercing eyes before he closed them and kissed her gently on the lips. The kiss only lasted a brief moment, but her knees felt so weak she thought she would melt. _

"_Merry Christmas, Sora," he murmured, his smooth voice taking her breath away. "I'll see you after the concert." With that, he jogged back to the stage, picking up his bass._

"_He must really like cookies!" Biyomon quipped. _

"_Hurry up or we'll miss the opening!" said Gabumon before he reluctantly placed the cookies by Matt's things._

_The two digimon led a stunned Sora to her seat._

_Tai and the others were waiting for her there. "So, did you wish Matt luck for us?" the brunette asked, a sloppy grin on his face._

_Sora felt the elation in her heart drop at Tai's carefree expression. "Yeah," she replied. "I did."_

_The curtains pulled open and the thunderous cheering of the crowd finally subdued her shaking hands._

The concert hall was silent and empty. The instruments laid on the stage, untouched. Matt was in the stands behind her, but Tai was still by her side.

"Are we home?" Kari asked, pulling away from the grip she had on TK.

Sora shook her head, but no words seemed to be able to form on her lips.

Everyone else seemed just as reluctant to answer.

Matt made his way down the stairs and jumped onto the stage before flicking the microphone. High-pitched feedback pierced their ears. "It works," he said into the mike, a smirk forming on the corner of his mouth.

Ken was making his way to the exit. He opened the door and gust of cold air burst inside. He stared out for a long moment before closing it shut. "I think we're still in a memory," he said.

"I didn't dream about this," TK relayed.

Sora could feel them waiting for someone to claim ownership. "It's mine," she finally mumbled.

"So..." Tai said, scratching the back of his head. "Got any new theories, Ken?"

Ken sat down in the stands, rubbing his temples. He still seemed like he was suffering from a headache, but his reaction was less severe this time. "I don't think we'll find the others here."

"What makes you say that?" Matt asked, taking a seat on the edge of the stage.

"Because we're in Sora's dream now."

Sora felt her cheeks go red.

Tai thudded down the steps. "Why does that make a difference?"

TK and Kari followed him, joining the rest of the group around the base of the stage.

"It means that TK isn't special," Ken explained. "No offense," he added as TK and Kari took the seats beside him.

The blonde shrugged. "I'm perfectly fine with that."

Sora slowly padded down the steps as Ken resumed his thought. "Before, I thought everyone had been taken into TK's memories. I figured since he remembered so many different instances in the digital world, we could just travel around his memories like we would in reality, but once we reached a point where he was foggy, the world became distorted. Then we were brought here to Sora's memory," he paused and glanced at the exit. "I thought it was strange that the city and the desert in the digital world were devoid of life. But now…"

They all waited in suspense for him to continue.

"Tokyo is empty. The whole city is silent."

Tai opened the door to reveal a cold, still world that confirmed his words. "Well… shit."

When the door closed, Ken continued. "Wherever we are… we aren't reliving our memories. We've been brought to a replica of the environment they took place in. The only life there is… is us."

"That doesn't explain why you don't think the others could be out there somewhere," Matt chimed in.

Ken took a deep breath. "I believe the memories are related to a particular moment in time. If the others are in Sora's memory with us, why weren't they brought to the same point in her memory that we were?"

"I don't know why they wouldn't be here, but this city is huge. They could be out there somewhere," Tai rebutted.

Ken shook his head. "Our minds only have the capacity to remember so much detail. There are places in the digital world we've never been, places in this city we've never seen, or things that we just didn't observe. The moment we venture into a place Sora doesn't remember, I think we'll see a repeat of what happened in the desert."

"So, how will we find the others?" Kari's voice wavered.

There was a long silence. Matt stood up and began walking around the stage, examining the band equipment. He disappeared behind the curtain.

"I'm not going to give up looking just because they might not be here. We're going to find them or a way out of here," Tai declared. His firm speech was interrupted by his stomach growling loudly. "But maybe we should find some food first," he grimaced.

Matt suddenly reappeared with a cookie tin in his hand. Sora felt her heart pound against her breast bone as he opened it and handed one to Tai.

"They're still warm," Tai said, shoving the sweet into his mouth whole. He stole two more cookies and handed one to his sister while Matt passed the tin around to everyone.

When he reached Sora, tears pricked her lids. "Thank you," she murmured as she reached into the container blindly. The frosted Christmas cookie she had chosen was shaped like a heart. She choked out a laugh.

"What's so funny?" Tai mumbled through a mouthful, sprinkling a few crumbs from his lips.

Sora took a seat next to Kari, shaking her head. "Nothing."

She took a bite of the cookie, breaking it in half.

* * *

"Please don't! Let me go!"

The shrieking voice jolted Izzy from his dazed existence. He squinted, attempting to see the source of the sound, but was once again thwarted by darkness.

A heavy bang echoed around him, like the sound of someone being shackled, and the source of the voice whimpered in despair. "What do you want with me?" it cried.

Claws clicked to the left of Izzy. "You're an ingredient for my recipe," the cruel cold voice of his captor replied.

Izzy shuddered and was sure his new companion did the same.

"You're going to eat me?"

His captor laughed. "Oh no! I'm only going to use you as a platform for my creation."

"What creation?"

"A new life."

Suddenly the new captive screeched so loudly that Izzy attempted to cover his ears, but his shackles kept him incapable. After a moment, there was silence.

Izzy's heart raced, but he remained quiet.

Suddenly hot, sour breath pressed against his face. "_You_ are my final ingredient. But first, let me take another look inside that brilliant mind of yours."

The thoughts and memories came spilling forth, but this time Izzy didn't even have the strength to scream.


	14. The Weight of the World

**Innocent Games**

**Chapter Fourteen  
The Weight of the World**

* * *

Waves drifted onto the golden sand, washing away the evidence of their existence from the deserted shore. It was as if the beach had never been touched by life until they left their footprints in the sand. Davis felt a sense of peace as another wave swept away the trail they had created behind them. How wonderful it felt to have the past erased.

The hot sun caused sweat to bead up and trickle down his bare back. He had tied his shirt around his waist and rolled up his pants. His boots were strung over his shoulder by their laces, while his other shoulder lugged a beach bag filled with drinks and snacks.

The cool ocean waves were beginning to look inviting. It wasn't often Davis came to a beach and trudged through the sand without jumping in for a swim. He drifted further into the wet sand, letting waves crash into his calves.

He suddenly found himself in no hurry to find the others, but Yolei's nervous walk kept him moving. Her violet hair was blowing loosely in the ocean breeze while her eyes remained downcast. It was strange how silent they had both become. Usually, Yolei was his partner in disturbing quiet moments, often a trait the others chastised them for. How shocked everyone would be to see them now. Yolei stuck to his side, trailing only slightly behind him.

Davis had no idea where he was going. He remembered that further up this beach they would come to a forest that led to a town of Punimon, the cute little red digimon he had taught soccer to when they were cleaning up the mess left by the Kaiser. He smirked as he thought of Ken. He still found it hard to believe that Ken and the Kaiser had ever been the same person. How cold and cruel Ken's eyes used to be before he dispelled the power of the dark spore, so unlike the sad gentle eyes he had now.

His train of thought made Davis glance at his companion again. He could have sworn he saw tears swimming beneath her glasses.

"Yolei," he murmured. Her eyes met his and, sure enough, they were flooded with tears. What was wrong with this girl? "You ok?"

She let out a deep breath. "Yeah."

"Bullshit," he replied, narrowing his eyes. "You've been a wreck ever since we got dragged into this mess. What the hell happened to you?"

Her sad caramel eyes sparked with anger. "Nothing, Davis. Leave me alone."

"Since when do you keep your mouth shut about anything?"

"Since when do you care?"

He stopped walking and looked at her in disbelief. "C'mon, Yolei, don't be like that. You know I do."

Yolei's cheeks flushed and suddenly Davis felt his own face growing warmer than what could be blamed on the sun.

"I don't want to talk about it."

He let out an exasperated breath and shifted the weight of the bag on his shoulder. "Fine," he shot back. He turned around and picked up the pace, gritting his teeth. He heard Yolei heave her own bag around and let out an angry huff.

"Do you even know where we're going?" she spat, trying to catch up with his quickened pace.

His shoulders relaxed as a large wave crashed into his legs, soaking the bottom of his pants. He'd rather deal with an angry Yolei than a sad one. "The Punimon village."

"Do you think there'll be any digimon there?"

Davis shrugged. "Beats me."

"Great," Yolei grumbled.

"You got any better ideas?"

"Maybe we should try to find a digiport so we can go home."

He shot her a look over his shoulder. "I thought you said we were in your memory."

"I don't know. Maybe we aren't."

"If we aren't, then there will be punimon in the village and we can ask them if they've seen the others."

"If we aren't, then we can go home."

"All our stuff was on the beach. We're in your memory," Davis declared, pulling his D-3 out of his back pocket. Only two dots appeared; there was no sign of the others. "Where is everyone?"

"Are you worried about Kari?"

Davis felt as if his heart dropped in his chest and he shoved the D-3 back into his pocket. He noticed that the forest began to jut out onto the beach about a mile ahead.

"What did you say to her at the party?"

As sick as the alcohol had made him, Davis suddenly found himself craving it again. "I asked her how she felt about me… and why she did it…"

"Why she kissed you?"

He nodded, his eyes focusing intensely on the upcoming forest.

"What'd she say?"

Davis clenched his fist. "She just said she was sorry. And that she felt nothing for me."

Yolei sighed. "She cares about you, you know."

He laughed bitterly. "Yeah, right."

The sound of a bag thumping filled his ears as Yolei jogged to catch up with him. "She can hardly talk without crying ever since it happened."

He remembered the pain in Kari's eyes when she pulled away from him and how she didn't even turn around when he told her he loved her. "She's just upset about TK."

"She loves TK, but I know that she is just as upset about hurting you."

Davis didn't respond.

"Why do you think she kissed you?"

He shook his head, then met Yolei's curious gaze and forced out a cocky grin. "'Cause I'm irresistible."

She rolled her eyes and shoved him playfully.

He noticed that a blush had once again crept onto her cheeks and, for some reason, it lifted a heavy weight from inside his chest.

* * *

Steam clouded his vision as the hot water cleansed his skin. He could hear the others outside, talking about what their next move should be.

For the first time since they had been pulled from the party into this crazy dimension, Tai was content with staying still. It wasn't because the hot shower warmed him as it melted the frozen sweat from his skin. It was because this bathroom smelled like her.

There was something comforting about the way Sora smelled. It was a mixture of flowers and freshly cut grass, like a warm spring day. It brought back memories of soccer practice and days at the park when they would play one on one, taunting each other, sometimes to the point of actual arguments. Tai smiled as he ran her shampoo through his wild mane and he daydreamed of her showering in the same place, using the same shampoo.

Apparently, he wasn't over her yet. He tried to push his thoughts aside and his stupid grin faded into an exasperated sigh. She had remembered Matt, not him. This was their memory… the cookies and the concert hall had been a dead giveaway.

It had been so hard for him to push aside his feelings for her that day, but more than anything he wanted her to be happy. He didn't want to lose her friendship. It was bad enough that he had lost his chance at being with her.

It was odd how he held the crest of courage, yet was a coward when it came to confessing love. He was so nervous about ruining their friendship that he kept putting it off. It had taken all his strength to make his pathetic attempt at asking her out on a date that day. He couldn't bear to make things more awkward and confess his love after she had turned him down for Matt.

"Hey Tai!" Matt's voice accompanied a banging on the bathroom door. "Leave enough hot water for the rest of us!"

Tai began rinsing the shampoo from his hair. "Chill out, blondie," he sputtered, water flying from his lips.

He could hear Matt grumbling something as water filled his ears, but couldn't quite make it out. After rinsing the rest of the soap from his body, Tai turned off the water and grabbed a towel, drying himself off.

Steam poured out of the room as he opened the door. He was wearing one of Sora's absentee father's robes and was rubbing his mop of wet hair with a towel. Everyone else was gathered in Sora's living room.

The group had decided it would be safest to explore the parts of the city Sora was most familiar with. She had suggested resting at her apartment where they could clean up and eat before they commenced their search for the others. Sora was missing from the group in the living room. Tai could hear the sound of a hair dryer coming from inside her closed bedroom door down the hallway.

"About time," Matt said, grabbing a towel from the linen closet before heading into the bathroom. "If the hot water is gone, I'm going to slug you."

Tai waved him off. "In your dreams, pretty boy," he laughed.

Matt made a rude gesture at him before closing the door.

"You guys are weird," TK said before shoveling in a mouthful of rice with his chopsticks.

Tai shrugged and plopped down next to his sister on the couch where she was thumbing through a sports magazine. As much as Kari supported the school's soccer and basketball teams, he knew she wasn't really interested in what she was reading. The poor girl just didn't seem to know what to do with herself.

"Have you eaten anything, Kari?"

She nodded; a small smile on her face. "Sora made some udon."

Tai suddenly smelled the delicious aroma of soup and freshly cooked rice coming from the kitchen. "Good, I'm getting some!"

He jumped up and easily helped himself to the rest of the food that was left, knowing exactly where the bowls and utensils were. It had been a long time since he had hung out at Sora's place, but everything was still the same. The traditional Japanese artwork still hung in the same places and fresh cut flowers were scattered in decorative vases.

As he came out of the kitchen carrying his bowl of noodles, he almost slammed into Sora, who had just exited her room with freshly styled hair.

"Oi! Sorry, Sora!" he said as she banged the side of her leg against a hallway table in order to avoid their collision.

She bent over to rub her injury. "It's ok, Tai," she grimaced.

He noticed she had changed into a small (very very small) light blue baby-t and a pair of form-fitting work out pants. Tai took in a deep breath and quickly averted his eyes from where he had been staring. "Thanks for the soup."

"No problem," she smiled as she rose.

For a moment they both stood, almost touching in the small hallway, not speaking. Tai's heart beat rapidly and he felt his face grow hot.

"I better put on a load of laundry," Sora murmured, breaking the silence. She brushed against him as she squeezed by, leaving a trail of her fragrance on his robe.

Tai took a deep breath and mentally gave himself a cold shower before returning to the living room. He plopped next to Ken with his bowl of udon.

"Women," he mumbled before slurping up his noodles.

Ken raised an eyebrow, but didn't ask for an explanation. "TK suggested checking the high school for the others."

"Mmmph?" Tai responded, noodles still dangling from his lips.

"It's a place Sora knows well enough. I figured it'd be less risky than checking their apartments," TK explained, placing his empty bowl on the coffee table.

Tai swallowed his noodles. "What about Odaiba Elementary? Maybe they went there to try to use the digiport."

Ken nodded. "That's possible, although most of us use the computers in our homes now."

"What if they aren't there?" Kari asked, setting down the sports magazine.

"We'll check their apartments next," TK said. "We should probably start with wherever Sora knows best."

"I've been to Yolei's place the most," Sora interjected as she came down the hallway. "After the schools, we should probably start there."

Ken pulled out his D-3 and turned it over. Six blinking lights were huddled together, but the rest of the screen was empty. "I'm worried, though," he murmured.

Tai was also looking at the screen of Ken's D-3. "That they aren't here?"

Ken shook his head. "Not only that. I'm worried that we should be more concerned with trying to find a way to escape this place. These memories may just be some kind of illusion. Where are we really?"

Tai, Sora, and TK all exchanged glances, remembering the illusionary hotel that Devimon had created not long after they first entered the digital world. An eerie silence fell over them.

The sound of the water running in the bathroom came to a sudden stop. Tai grabbed another bunch of noodles with his chopsticks and scooped them into his mouth. After chewing for a moment, he swallowed.

"Well," he said softly, his eyes meeting Sora's concerned gaze. "This is some of the best damn illusion I've ever tasted then."

TK chuckled and both Kari and Ken allowed small smiles to grace their faces. Sora only tore her gaze from his as Matt emerged from the bathroom with only a towel around his waist.

"Hey Sora… what'd you do with my clothes?" the blonde asked cooly.

Tai tried to push aside the feelings of jealousy that arose as he watched her cheeks redden.

"They're in the wash," Sora answered. "I'll go get you something of my dad's to wear." She disappeared back down the hallway and Matt plopped down on the other side of Tai. Kari stood and grabbed another towel, taking her turn in the bathroom.

Tai sat his bowl of soup on the table and leaned back on the couch, placing his right ankle on his knee. "So much for modesty," he grumbled.

Matt's icy eyes narrowed at him.

TK snickered and Sora reappeared, holding a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt. Suddenly her entire face matched the color of her hair and she quickly turned around, covering her eyes and apologizing profusely.

"What?" Tai asked, confused.

TK led out a loud guffaw. "You're one to talk about modesty, Tai," he laughed, practically falling to the floor in hysterics.

It took a minute before Tai realized there was a draft in a place he really didn't want there to be one. He quickly uncrossed his legs and pressed them together, pulling the robe more tightly around himself. Ken and Matt both joined TK in his laughter.

Tai's ears were burning. He picked up his noodles and started slurping them down so ferociously that he choked and Matt had to slap him hard on the back. When he caught his breath he noticed Sora had disappeared again and he glared at TK.

"Thanks for warning me!"

"Did Tai just flash everyone?" Kari's voice called from inside the bathroom.

He glared daggers at the closed door.

This sent TK into another fit of hysterics and the others soon followed.

Tai grimaced and left the living room to eat his noodles alone at the kitchen counter. As embarrassed as he was, he was more concerned that he had just given Sora another reason to act awkward around him. Ever since her breakup with Matt, their friendship seemed to change. He ran a hand through his wet mop of hair and let out a large sigh.

He turned around to the sound of footsteps behind him. Sora made her way to the sink and began to clean the dirty pots and pans.

Tai cleared his throat. "Er… Sorry about that… I didn't realize…"

Suddenly a loud snicker burst from Sora's lips and she started cracking up.

At first Tai wondered if he should be offended, but as she turned to face him, tears of laughter flowing from her crimson eyes, he couldn't help but chuckle with her. Then the hidden awkwardness that had formed between them lifted, like a heavy weight from his shoulders.

* * *

A warm summer breeze tossed her hair and she felt at peace. Even the silent streets and the solemn faces of her companions couldn't keep her down.

"What a beautiful day," Mimi exclaimed. Each step she took, she found herself closer and closer to Joe Kido and her heart beat sped rapidly.

His looked to her and a soft smile lit his face when their fingers brushed together. She grabbed two of his fingers and squeezed them gently before pulling away. He blushed.

Iori was just ahead of them and stopped in front of the Takenouchi flower shop. Mimi recognized it easily enough. Although it had been years since she had lived in Japan, she had often come here to help Sora out before her family's move to America. She had several fond memories of joking and exchanging secrets with the tomboy in this place.

She pressed a hand to the window and leaned in, looking through the glass. All types of flowers filled the space with color, but it was silent inside.

"No one's here," she said.

Iori pulled out his D-3 and stared at it. "I don't think we're going to find the others here. I'm beginning to think that we were all pulled into different worlds."

"Do you think they're reliving memories like we are?" Mimi asked.

Joe ran a hand through his long blue hair. "Maybe. I just don't know, Mimi. This whole thing is so strange," he gestured to the empty city streets. "If we were really in a memory, wouldn't there be memory people? Or at least visions of them? The lack of any life seems… wrong."

"So what should we do?" Mimi wondered.

"I think we should rest," Iori said. "We can go to my apartment complex and get something to eat. Then we can check out Yolei and TK's apartments to see if there's any sign of them there."

Joe nodded. "We need to replenish our supplies, just in case we get dragged back into the digital world… or wherever we were before."

They started to continue down the street and Mimi found herself looking back at the Takenouchi flower shop with longing. She wished she was really home, helping Sora arrange bouquets and chatting about boys at school. She could wear a school uniform again and run to meet Joe after class.

If they ever escaped this place, she would have to go home to New York. Her heart ached, thinking about separating from him.

"That's odd," Iori said, staring at the sky.

Mimi looked up to see dark clouds in the distance, sheets of rain escaped them and poured out on the part of city they were headed towards.

"Looks like a bad storm coming," Joe commented.

"No," Iori's voice shook. "There wasn't a storm."

"What do you mean?" Mimi questioned. The dark clouds looked menacing, like a summer storm that crept up on a warm, humid day.

"It didn't rain that day."

They stopped and watched the dark clouds in the distance. The air around them was warm and dry, nothing hinting at rainfall. The clouds hovered unnaturally, unmoving, pouring onto the streets ahead.

Mimi felt a chill run through her and she grabbed onto Joe's hand, unworried about the display of affection. "If this wasn't in Iori's memory, then what is it?"

Joe's face hardened as he studied what seemed like a strangely isolated incident. Despite the breeze that swept around them, the clouds didn't budge. "Maybe it's one of the other's memories," he ventured.

Iori looked relieved. "That has to be it. Maybe we'll find them there!"

"It's a better lead than anything else we've seen so far," Joe agreed. "And it's in the direction of your apartment anyway."

As they continued toward the dark sky, Mimi suddenly felt the peaceful feeling leave her and heavy dread weighed upon her mind.

* * *

When it happened, he could find no words to explain the pain he felt.

It wasn't equivalent to any bump, bruise, cut, sickness, or broken bone. There was a tearing inside that he couldn't attribute to any single organ. Without touching him, his captor had pulled something out from his insides.

Izzy knew something was missing. He coughed and he could taste blood in the back of his throat, drops of the metallic liquid had splashed onto his lips. A sob escaped him in utter despair.

He didn't know what had been done to him, but he knew there was a piece of him gone and he knew that he would never have it again.

But what disturbed him the most was that he could still _feel _whatever had been taken from him.

And now… it was a part of something else.

* * *

A tree branch whipped from his hand and smacked her directly in the face, knocking her glasses crooked. She cried out and her hand instantly pressed against her cheek.

"Damn it, Davis!" she roared.

The boy turned around sheepishly, realizing what he had done. "Geez! I'm sorry, Yolei!" he apologized as she ducked under the offending branch to catch up with him.

"You're such an idiot!"

His apologetic demeanor quickly altered. "Maybe if you were looking where you were going, you wouldn't have gotten hit!"

"Maybe if you weren't so selfish, you would have made sure I wasn't in the way before you let go!" she screamed back. She pulled her hand from her face and found that it was speckled with blood.

"Shut up and let me look at it," he demanded, pulling her arm so she almost fell into him. He pushed away the hair that was sticking to her face and examined the cut. "It's just a scrape," he said before setting down his bag. He pulled out a bottle of water and poured it on her cheek.

Water went everywhere, soaking her top, and she jumped back. "Davis!" she shrieked. Her hands shot up to hold the shirt that was now dragging down from the weight of the water.

"I was just trying to help!"

"Well you suck at helping!" Yolei straightened her glasses with one hand while she held up her top with the other. She turned away from him and attempted to wring the water from the fabric.

Davis started grumbling curses as he shoved the bottle back into his bag. Yolei could hear him stomping off, leaving her behind.

She was so angry at the moment that she didn't care if she was alone, until she heard rustling in the brush. She froze. Her hands gripped her twisted shirt and small drops of water seemed to crash loudly against the vegetation on the forest floor. Her eyes darted around and she could have sworn she saw movement in the thick foliage just ahead of her. She held her breath and waited.

Then there was nothing. She glanced over her shoulder to see Davis disappearing further into the forest. Her heart beat wildly with fear and she took a few steps backward as she turned back to where she thought she had seen movement.

She bolted. She ran so hard through the brush and tree limbs that they smacked against her fresh wound, causing it to bleed more freely. Panic rose in her chest. Where had Davis gone?

Suddenly she burst beneath a large fern-like leaf only to run smack into Davis's chest. He fell flat on his back and she fell on top, knocking the air out of him.

"Yolei!" he coughed when he regained his breath. "What the hell are you-"

She pressed her hand against his mouth, silencing him. Her eyes darted around and they both waited in anticipation. The world was still around them.

"Mmmph!" Davis protested.

Finally she released him and pushed herself to her knees. Davis sat up.

"I saw something," she whispered frantically.

Davis jumped to his feet and his dark eyes wandered around the forest, waiting for a sign of life. Finally he began brushing the dirt from his pants and shirt. "You're seeing things."

"I heard it too! Something is following us."

He stopped again, listening. After a few moments, he shook his head. "You're crazy."

"I'm not crazy!" she cried.

Davis turned to glare at her and Yolei noticed a sudden redness cover his face as his eyes glued to her chest. She glanced down and noticed her low-cut top had been rustled in their fall enough to reveal an entire cup of her silky baby blue bra. She pulled it up and grabbed a twig, throwing it at his face. "Pervert!"

"Ow!" Davis yelped when the stick smacked his forehead. "It's just a bra!" he defended. "My sister walks around in hers all the time!"

"You were staring!"

"There's nothing to stare at!"

He was hit with another twig. "Damn it, Yolei!"

She threw another one, tears swimming in her eyes.

He dodged it. "Stop it!"

"You are such a jackass!" she shrieked, this time throwing a small rock. It hit him in the shin.

"Alright, that is it!" Davis bellowed. He stormed at her and she grabbed a handful of dirt only to have him grab her wrist mid-throw. "Drop the dirt!"

Yolei stared at him in defiance and he tightened his grip until she finally allowed the dirt to trickle from her fingers. The tears started spilling from her eyes and a muffled sob escaped her lips.

Davis's grasp loosened and she buried her face in her hands. "Not this again," he sighed.

"Shut up and leave me alone," she gurgled through her tears.

Davis groaned and sat down on the ground beside her. He doodled in the dirt with a stick while he waited for her to calm down.

After a few minutes she sniffled, removed her glasses, and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Are you done?"

She scowled and placed her glasses back on her face.

"Good," Davis said, pushing himself off the ground. "I think the village is on the other side of these trees."

When Yolei remained, he reached down and offered his hand. "C'mon," he mumbled.

She ignored his hand and pushed herself up, grabbing her bag of supplies. She straightened her shirt and tugged on the hem of her mini-skirt, flattening it out. Then she walked right past him and through the remaining trees.

When she reached the clearing, the village that greeted her wasn't the punimon village.

Davis burst out of the vegetation after her. "Yolei, you're going to get yourself -" he stopped mid-sentence at the sight before him.

Primary Village was destroyed and gray, completely devoid of color and life. Tiny freshly dug graves lined the place where digieggs should have sat waiting to hatch.

"What's going on?" Davis muttered.

Yolei slowly walked along the upturned blocks and baskets, surveying the damage. She placed her bag on the ground and took a seat on the ruins of the school. This wasn't part of her memory, she had never even dreamed of seeing Primary Village this way.

Davis sat beside her and put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently.

It suddenly felt like the weight of the world had sat itself on her back.


	15. Smiles and Tears

**Innocent Games**

**Chapter Fifteen  
Smiles and Tears**

* * *

The rain was so heavy that as they ran it felt like tiny pebbles were being pelted against his face. Joe crooked his arm against his forehead, trying to block the downpour, but the wind swept the water against him anyway. His glasses were becoming fogged and heavy with raindrops and he could barely see. Mimi held fast to his hand, leading the way as they followed Iori to his apartment. Her other hand held Joe's coat above her head, but she was already soaked.

Joe tried to focus on not falling over himself rather than stare at her petite frame hugged by a wet dress.

"We're only about two blocks away!" Iori shouted. He said something else, but it was drowned out by a clap of thunder.

Joe jogged fairly often. It was a good way to stay healthy and one reason he maintained his thin frame. Not to mention, he had spent half his childhood having to keep ahead of monsters that constantly tried to devour him. He wasn't the best fighter, but he could run away easily enough.

Running the last two blocks to their destination usually would have taken him less than a minute, but now it seemed like an eternity. The elements were against him and that's what he blamed for his wheezing when they finally came to a stop beneath the shelter of Iori's apartment building.

When he caught his breath, he saw that Mimi was shivering and he wrapped an arm around her, rubbing her arm with his hand. He reddened at his own boldness. He was about to ask her if she was ok when he sneezed.

"Bless you!" Mimi exclaimed through her chattering teeth.

"I'm allergic to rain," Joe said, only half joking. He took off his glasses and removed his arm from Mimi in order to wipe the water from them.

They followed Iori into the elevator and he pushed the button that would bring them to floor seven. The youngest chosen child was also shivering, but his face didn't show his discomfort. He only looked determined and (if Joe could read him right) concerned.

When they reached the Hida's apartment, Iori halted and stared at the doorknob.

"What is it?" Joe asked.

"If this is someone else's memory, what are we going to find?"

Joe swallowed. "Well, I guess we won't know until you open the door."

Iori nodded, looking more determined than before. He gripped the door knob and turned.

The sight was unlike anything Joe had ever seen before.

The door opened to a pit of blackness.

Then it suddenly began to change. Bit by bit, objects began to appear before their eyes. First the floor and ceiling, then a hallway shot down into a living room where furniture and décor slowly appeared through the darkness. It was like a black fog rolling back into the sea, revealing all it had covered in the night.

Finally it was as if Iori's home had always been there.

"What just happened?" Mimi's voice was the first to squeak out after the stunning scene.

Iori's hands shot to his head and he stumbled into the apartment, suddenly looking weak.

"Iori!" Joe caught the younger boy's arm and helped lead him to the couch in the living room. Mimi followed behind, wearily looking at her surroundings as if she thought they would disappear again at any moment.

When Iori seemed more stable, Joe left him and fumbled through the kitchen before returning with a glass of water. Mimi was sitting on a chair across from the boy, watching him with apprehension.

Iori took the water, but didn't drink. Instead his bright green eyes met Joe's gaze.

"I felt it," he whispered.

"What did you feel?" Joe asked. He instinctively brushed aside Iori's dampened bangs and pressed a hand to his forehead, feeling for a temperature that would account for the boy's sudden weakness. He only felt clammy and cold from the rain.

Iori grabbed Joe's wrist, removing his hand. "Someone was inside my head."

The distress in his eyes left no doubt in Joe's mind.

They weren't simply reliving their memories in some odd dimension that brought dreams to life. Someone was extracting the memories from their minds.

Joe was afraid to ask for what purpose.

* * *

"Ken, you ok?"

Ken startled and looked up from the ground to see Tai's eyebrows furrowed in concern. For a moment, he thought the voice had come from Davis. It still amazed him how much the two were alike, yet completely unrelated.

"You look kinda pale, buddy."

That was another very Davis-like thing to say.

Ken removed his hand from his temple. "I'm alright. Just a headache," he replied. He could tell that the brunette didn't believe him, but Tai didn't get a chance to question him further.

They had been walking along the streets of Odaiba in order to check out the high school when suddenly everyone came to a stop to stare at the sky.

Dark rain clouds hovered motionless above a portion of the city, pouring onto the streets below.

"It wasn't raining that day," Tai murmured.

Ken noticed a blush form on Sora's cheeks.

"Do rain clouds normally just sit there like that?" TK asked.

"I don't think so," Matt responded, his eyes narrowing at the sky.

"This is close to where Davis lives," Ken said, looking down the street. From the corner of his eye he saw Kari stiffen and he suddenly felt horribly guilty for bringing up his best friend.

As much as the incident (or more so Kari's reaction afterwards) had hurt Davis, Ken found himself more concerned for the bearer of Light and her battle with darkness. Davis would bounce back after time. His energy and personality could only harbor the sadness of a broken heart for so long before he shook it off and took on the world again. Ken didn't think it would be as easy for Kari. Davis's guilt was minimal. As far as Ken understood the story, Kari was the one who initiated the action (although Davis had taken full advantage of the situation) and she had two broken hearts she was accountable for.

Guilt was the greatest tool of darkness. Ken understood that better than anyone. He grimaced as he thought of his final words to his brother and his proceeding journey to the dark ocean where guilt forged into hatred and emerged in the form of the Kaiser.

Kari suddenly looked very alone as they stood there, theorizing on the dark clouds. TK had distanced himself from her once again and this time Tai was oblivious to her pain. Her eyes flickered up and suddenly those brown pools met Ken's as if she could sense his empathy. An artificial smile crossed her lips and Ken felt compelled to warn her. Her Light already made her a target of darkness. Now, in this strange place, with this fresh guilt, Ken worried she might be defeated.

Her fake smile slowly diminished. Ken tore his gaze from hers. The concern must have been evident in his expression, but who was he to help her battle darkness? Sometimes he felt like he was only one step ahead of it himself.

"What do you think?" Tai asked.

It took Ken a minute to realize he was talking to him. "About what?"

Tai's eyebrows creased. "You sure you're ok, man?"

He nodded. "I'm sorry… I was thinking about something else." He glanced at Kari again, but instead saw TK. The blonde had moved to her side. That was good. TK had a good heart; he would forgive her. Although if Kari was anything like Ken, he thought TK's kindness may drive her to feel even worse.

"We thought this might be one of the other's memories," Matt explained.

Ken looked up again at the still, dismal clouds. "I think you're right."

He had a good idea of whose memory this was. A typhoon had hit that day, a little later than Japan's usual typhoon season. Ken had been watching the torrents of rain from his bedroom window when Davis called him, cursing up a storm to cover his distress. It had taken Ken a good hour to talk the boy down from destroying a number of valuable objects, although he still wasn't sure he was successful. There had been a loud noise resembling something shattering about half way through the phone call.

The next day he had joined Yolei in taking Davis to Leisureland's arcade and ninja show in hopes of distracting him from the heartbreak. It was the first time since Ken had known him that video games and flying shuriken didn't bring a grin to his friend's face.

Ken suddenly felt a pang of guilt for joining Tai's group and leaving them behind. There weren't two people in the world he cared about more than Yolei and Davis. They were the first to accept him with forgiveness and open arms. Their contagious, energetic personalities brought him out of his depression and helped him look forward to the future. It was hard to dwell on the darkness of the past when his two best friends were so apt to live entirely for the moment.

As his thoughts drifted to Yolei, he felt his heart clench in his chest. Just before they had appeared in the black world, there had been something strange. Ken had felt emotions buried inside him rise to the surface, thoughts that plagued him seemed to manifest, but when he heard Yolei's screams as they entered the darkness he pushed aside all that surrounded him to pull her into his arms. What had she been experiencing to drive her to such despair? Yolei was normally quick to share whatever was on her mind. Emotions leapt from her tongue without a second thought. What was she hiding from them?

Ken sighed. He could barely hear Matt and Tai murmuring about what they should do regarding this new memory. Instead he thought back to his reasons for leaving his two best friends behind. At the time, it had seemed like the right thing to do. Ken still felt the need to establish himself among the older chosen children. Although they had made it clear they accepted him long ago, Ken felt like he rarely had the chance to prove himself to them.

Ever since the defeat of MaloMyotismon, the digital world had been safe. On earth, there was a massive cover up for the strange phenomenon of light that had linked the two worlds. The Chosen had to dodge some nosy investigative reporters, but for the most part, things seemed to go back to normal. They were finally allowed to be kids again, free from the responsibility of saving worlds. Instead of enjoying the peace, Ken found himself feeling as if he still hadn't made up for his sins. He had chosen to go with Tai to be a part of the rescue party for Izzy. The bearer of Knowledge was probably the only older chosen Ken felt a connection with.

He tried not to regret the decision. After all, Davis was fully capable of taking care of himself (once he sobered up) and the others in their group. Joe was trained in the medical field and had plenty of supplies handy in case anyone was hurt. Iori was there to keep them calm and Yolei had Mimi for company. She would be ok with them.

"Well, let's get moving then," Tai commanded.

Ken had missed whatever decision he and Matt had hammered out, but he didn't ask for a repetition. Instead, Ken followed them into the rain and into the memory of Kari's shame.

* * *

"There is no way I'm getting in there."

She had to be one of the most stubborn people Davis had ever met. He shifted and the rowboat rocked back and forth in the shallow water beneath him.

"It's perfectly safe," he declared. "Now get in already!"

Yolei threw her bag into the boat, narrowly missing him. Davis assumed it was because she had bad aim. She slipped off her pair of tennis shoes and chucked them in as well. They stopped just short of hitting him in the shoulder. Making a face of disgust, she waded through the still, colorless lake, sinking into the muck below the surface.

"Oh, gross."

"Aw, you worried 'bout your pedicure, Miyako?"

She picked her gaze up from the mucky water to glare at him. When she climbed into the boat, it rocked violently and Davis had to shift his weight in order to keep it from toppling over. Yolei lost her balance and suddenly a small muddy foot landed in his lap.

"Ugh!" Davis exclaimed, appalled.

Yolei picked herself up and he was sure she purposefully ground the mud into his lap as she did so. "Serves you right," she declared, looking in better spirits.

Davis grunted and pushed off shore with the oars. The boat began drifting into the lake and he rowed, watching Yolei carefully dangle her feet over the edge, shaking mud off into the water. She scooped more water into her hands and began washing dirt and debris from her legs. Rivulets dripped down her lightly tanned skin back into the lake while a few drops rolled the wrong direction along her thin thighs, dampening her short skirt. Her long violet hair shielded her face as she worked. When she pushed the strands behind her ear, Davis averted his eyes.

A mixture of gray forest and mountains waited on the other side of the lake. Davis felt the boat rock as Yolei pulled herself upright on her seat. A breeze bounced off the water's surface and helped cool the warmth on his cheeks.

"What do you think we'll find over there?" Yolei asked.

Davis pulled back on the oars. "The only time primary village was destroyed was when Tai and the others had to battle the dark masters," he said, watching her eyes narrow beneath her frames. "Matt went across this lake then… maybe this is his memory."

Matt had shared the story of his journey across the lake with Davis after he inherited the crest of Friendship. It was where the darkness of Matt's heart had manifested in the form of a black cave.

Yolei crossed her legs, bouncing her bare foot anxiously. "Do you think we'll find the others?"

Davis shrugged and let go of the oars. The boat continued to drift slowly across the lake while he dug out some fishing line from the bottom of his beach bag. He was glad it was still there. When they had gone to the beach that year, he had packed extra line and hooks (he had a habit of breaking line often), but he had forgotten his fishing pole at home. Davis remembered letting loose a string of profanities when he realized it was missing and the subsequent scolding he had received from Kari.

His brows furrowed and he began wrapping the line around a stick he had thrown into the bottom of the boat, pulling it with his teeth to tie a knot.

"What are you doing?"

Davis spit out the fishing line and shot a grin at her. "I'm gonna try to catch us some dinner."

Yolei looked at him incredulously. "With what?"

Davis pulled something else from his bag. He held his closed fist in front of her face before allowing the object to drop in front of her eyes, dangling.

"A gummy worm?" She raised an eyebrow.

He looked a little miffed. "Closest thing I've got to bait," he said, tossing it into the air and catching it with a smirk. "I bet the fish'll love it!"

An hour later…

"Damn it! This sucks!"

"There aren't any fish here," Yolei said, popping a gummy worm into her mouth. "We're wasting time."

Davis frowned at her. "You're wasting my bait!"

She picked up another one and put it between her lips, slurping it up slowly.

"Give me the worms!"

"No!"

Davis stood up to grab the bag of candy from her hands. The action was so quick that the boat was knocked off balance. Before either of them could do anything to stop it, the boat capsized, throwing them and all their supplies into the lake.

Davis spit out water as he came to the surface, his bag of supplies in hand.

"You stupid jerk!" Yolei sputtered, coming up for air and grabbing onto the side of the overturned boat.

Davis threw the bag on top of the capsized boat and before Yolei could scold him more, he dove back down in the water after Yolei's sinking bag. After about 30 seconds he surfaced again empty handed. "Dammitsonuvabitch!"

"What the hell were you thinking?" Yolei shrieked, clinging to the boat. Her glasses had fallen from her face and were tangled in her hair.

"You should have just given me the goddamn worms!"

"They weren't working!"

"They would have!"

"We lost everything! My glasses are missing, I can't even see!"

Davis took in a deep breath and swam up to her, grasping the boat. He reached towards her face and a blush immediately rose on her cheeks. He grabbed her glasses and yanked them out of the tangled mess, pulling out a few strands of her hair.

"Ow!" she cried. "What the-" She stopped as he handed the glasses to her. "Thanks…" She placed them on her face. The lenses were covered with drops of water and hid her eyes from his view.

Davis sighed. "C'mon, let's swim this piece of crap back to shore."

They were still much closer to the side of the lake they had left from, so they began swimming in that direction, tugging the boat alongside them. They each grumbled occasionally, but their words lacked venom.

When they reached the shore, they both collapsed onto the gray muddy grass, breathing heavily. After a moment of silence, Yolei suddenly burst into giggles.

Davis sat up, worried for her sanity. The poor girl was covered in gray mud and gunk from the lake. Her hair was a wet mess, filled with debris and her shirt was disheveled, allowing just a spot of that blue bra to poke out the top. Her glasses were so fogged that he couldn't tell if she had noticed him staring.

Without warning, a hand reached up and smacked him lightly on the side of the face, twice. He lifted his hand to his cheek and wiped away a glob of mud.

"Pervert," Yolei snickered.

He went after her with his own glob of mud and she shrieked, holding her hands up to protect herself. After a good deal of squeals and wrestling, Davis succeeded in drawing a smiley face on her forehead and they both fell back onto the shore, laughing.

When the giggles finally ceased an eerie silence hung over them. Davis's stomach growled and he grimaced. They _had_ lost everything. The bag that contained all their food and most of the supplies had sunk to the bottom of the lake.

He noticed that Yolei had sat up and rubbed the mud from her face. She wrapped her arms around herself as she watched the sun begin to set. The rays shone off the surface of the water, glimmering in the ripples. If the world around them hadn't been devoid of color, it would have been beautiful.

Davis pushed himself off the ground. He was about to stand when he felt Yolei lean against his shoulder, shivering. He instinctively wrapped an arm around her and while she continued to take in the dismal sunset, he watched the color in his arms.

* * *

Its vision was tunneled and curved, like a distorted camera effect used in film.

The gray foliage was stark in contrast to the colorful world it had left behind. Its surroundings blended together and faded in and out of reality. The creature could feel the liquid in its chest as it struggled to breathe.

So, this was what death felt like.

Each step was agony. All its senses began to fade away. Black steadily took over its vision of the gray world. The creature stumbled and fell to ground, wheezing. Slowly the sound of the wind in the trees and its own struggled breaths became muffled until all went silent.

Then its chest felt full and heavy. With its last breath, it could smell the scent of its own decay.

There was a moment after the creature stopped breathing that it could still feel. The sensation of the ground beneath its body disappeared slowly, traveling from its appendages until all it could feel was the final beat of its heart.

A scream escaped Izzy's lips and he choked before spilling the contents of his stomach on the floor. It seemed like an eternity before he stopped being sick. Tears squeezed from the corner of his eyes as he spit the last of the horrid taste from his mouth.

"You were there, weren't you?" The vile breath of his captor made Izzy bite back another round of vomit.

He didn't answer. Doom surrounded him.

The lack of a response seemed to be enough of an answer for the monster. "We will try another. One that you may be more compatible with."

"W-what," Izzy coughed, "are you doing to me?"

The claws clicked to his left. "I've come upon a particular problem," his captor breathed, ignoring his question. "But it will be solved and soon my world will be filled."

"Please, let me go," Izzy sobbed. His resolve was completely broken. "I… I can help you solve it."

A scratchy chortle came from his captor. "Anything I need from you, I can take. In fact, all I have is thanks to you."

Izzy despaired. "No… I never meant for anyone to actually implement it. I didn't think it was possible."

The sound of the monster's nails seemed to grow further from him in the darkness. "It is possible. My very name denoted the power required to gather enough data to do so."

Izzy couldn't help himself. Even in his hopeless state, curiosity got the best of him. "What is your name?"

He could almost feel the monster's smile through the darkness. "Animamon."

When the sound of a door slamming greeted Izzy's ears, he again felt bile rise to the back of his throat. In his studies, he had learned enough Latin to understand that name.

His captor was a digimon. And it could manipulate souls.

* * *

"Yolei?"

There was no answer and he knocked a second time.

"Miyako?"

Iori met glances with Joe and Mimi before he turned the doorknob to the Inoue's apartment. It was unlocked. When the door opened, Iori braced himself for another invasion into his mind, but nothing happened.

The living room of the Inoue apartment was the same as always, the kitchen to his left. Iori looked down and noticed slippers and shoes piled by the door. Joe and Mimi were slipping their own shoes off as they followed him into the home.

"I think Yolei was here," Mimi said.

"Well, this is her apartment, right?" Joe asked, looking confused.

"I mean she was here in this memory," Mimi explained, shaking her head. She picked up a pair of black stiletto heels by the door. "She was wearing these at the party."

Joe pushed his glasses onto the bridge of his nose. "Are you sure?"

Iori could hear Mimi huff as he began searching the apartment. "Yes, I'm sure! I bought them for her!"

"I was wondering why she looked so…" Joe gulped as Mimi narrowed her eyes at him, "lovely."

"She looked fabulous," Mimi squealed before placing the heels back on the floor. "I don't think she had any trouble getting attention in that outfit."

"No, she definitely wasn't having trouble with that," Joe replied.

Their conversation faded as Iori continued down the hallway to Yolei's room. He had spent a lot of time in this house as a child. The Inoue family was lively and upbeat, filled with people constantly. The two parents and four children were constantly in and out, balancing their home life with running their storefront. It was a stark contrast to the way Iori lived with his mother and grandfather. Iori could take solace in the chaos of the Inoues. The noise helped him escape the sad silence that sometimes filled his own empty home.

Iori noticed that one of Yolei's dresser drawers had been left open. It was empty, which he found strange, especially since a mess of clothes was missing from the floor. Sometimes Yolei would pull out a dozen outfits only to give up and put on the same old thing she was most comfortable with. Iori shared Joe's sentiments about Yolei's attire last night. It was strange to see her in such a scandalous outfit.

Iori pushed the drawer closed and noticed the picture on top of her dresser. He took in a breath of shock at the distorted faces. Before he could react further, blackness swirled around the picture and he felt an invasion in his mind.

He could see the picture and all the faces of the Inoue family. He could hear Yolei chattering about the latest program she had installed on her computer. He noticed a flash of her violet hair and suddenly she was gone.

The picture, filled with the smiling, clear faces of the Inoue family fell to the floor with a crash.

Iori stumbled onto Yolei's bed, holding his head in his hands.

Joe and Mimi rushed through the door.

"Are you ok?" Joe questioned.

Iori nodded.

"It happened again, didn't it?" Mimi's voice was somehow scared and comforting at the same time.

"I don't get it," Iori choked out, looking up at his companions. "If Yolei was here, then why weren't her things right?"

Joe sat down beside him and placed his hand to his chin in thought. "Maybe this wasn't her memory."

"But she was here!" Mimi interjected.

They sat in silence for a moment as Joe thought. Iori rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to subdue the pounding in his head.

"It was Davis, then," Iori murmured. "This must be his memory." He took in a shaky breath. "The only thing I don't understand is why I'm being used to fill in the things he forgot. Why wouldn't it use Yolei's memory to fill in the gaps in Davis's?"

Joe took off his glasses and rubbed them with the edge of his shirt. "Maybe it's because we came to Davis's memory through yours. None of this makes any sense. I'm beginning to wonder if there's any rhyme or reason to any of this."

Mimi took a seat next to them on the bed. "What do you mean, Joe?"

He replaced the glasses on his nose. "What if this is all just a distraction? Something took Izzy before it took the rest of us. There's an enemy we haven't seen yet. We've already been separated physically… what if it's using our memories to tear us apart?"

"We've already been falling apart," Iori whispered.

Mimi and Joe both looked at him expectantly.

Iori sighed. "Ever since the others got into high school, I barely see them anymore. Now, Davis and TK are enemies again. Kari's been isolating herself. Everyone's changing. Even Yolei's been acting differently. We've been drifting apart ever since we defeated MaloMyotismon."

"I guess that makes sense," Joe responded. "I mean… if we hadn't all been chosen to save the digital world, some of us probably wouldn't have even been friends."

"Teenage drama," he continued, breathing out in exasperation. "It was bound to happen."

Mimi suddenly hiccupped back a small sob and both boys turned to her in concern.

"Hey, Mimi, don't cry. It'll be ok!" Joe looked panicked at her sudden outburst.

"I hate drama!" she squealed, small tears squeezing from the corners of her eyes.

Iori was startled when Joe started to laugh. Mimi turned to him, her sadness giving way to anger.

"I'm sorry," Joe chuckled. "It's just... you're the most dramatic person I've ever met."

Angry tears fell down Mimi's delicate face. "You're such a jerk!" With that, she fled from Yolei's bedroom.

Joe stared after her, shocked.

"Maybe you should talk to her," Iori suggested.

The college freshman swallowed heavily. "Yeah…" Joe stood and ran a hand through his long blue hair nervously. "Mimi," he called as he ran out into the hallway. "Hey, come on, don't be mad…"

Iori didn't listen to the ensuing conversation. Instead his eyes drifted to the broken frame on the floor. Yolei smiled up at him, seemingly happy.

It was strange how people could smile when they were so sad.

Iori never had learned how to do that.

* * *

Kari was always beautiful. Even now, soaked and near tears.

He could see them glistening in her eyes even though she was staring into space, her gaze focused on that place between the ground and the sky that was so easy to get lost in. Her small hands were wrung together in anxiety. She was ashamed to look at him, ashamed to be here.

TK was embarrassed. He knew he should be angry or upset. Instead he felt like being here with her was invading upon a moment in time that should have been kept secret. It was like reading her diary without her permission.

Ken and Matt came thudding down the apartment steps and Kari stood from her seat at the bottom of them.

"No one's here," Matt reported.

"I think Davis was here earlier, though," Ken added. "The clothes he wore to the party last night were on the floor in his room."

"Do you think they're close?" Tai asked.

Ken shook his head. "It's hard to say. They might be here, but it's also possible they were pulled into a new memory like we were."

"Where do you think they would go if they were still here?" Sora asked Ken.

Ken looked hesitant and TK noticed his eyes drift to Kari. "Probably the closest apartments to his, but the school would be my next guess."

"Your place is the closest, Tai," Matt supplied. "Then we should check out my apartment before we head over to the school. If no one's there, we'll go to your place, TK."

TK nodded. "Sounds good to me."

The group headed back out into the rain.

"Where's a bus when you need one?" Tai groaned.

When they reached the Yagami residence, everyone was shivering. Sora sneezed.

"Bless you," Tai and Matt said simultaneously. Matt glared and Tai grinned.

Sora reddened. "Thanks…"

TK almost broke into hysterics at the awkwardness of the situation, but was subdued as they climbed the steps to the Yagami residence.

Tai flung the door open. "I'm hoooome!"

Silence greeted them.

"I don't think anyone's here," Matt grumbled. TK could tell Tai was upsetting him. The two had a friendship that had grown stranger as they grew older. Sora and Matt's breakup was only making it more odd.

TK knew that Tai was crazy about Sora and he knew Matt knew that he was crazy about her. There had always been an unspoken pact between the boys when it regarded the redhead. They didn't fight over her; they didn't ever mention the strange love triangle that had formed between them. They just let Sora decide. She meant more to both of them than she probably realized, but they cared enough about each other to just let things be. The dramatics were kept fairly minimal.

As messy as the situation was, TK envied it. Sora never cheated on Matt and Tai never expressed his love to her.

Davis wasn't exactly like his idol after all.

TK felt a pang in his chest. As angry as he was at Davis, he couldn't hate him. Their leader was impulsive and reckless, but TK had grown to respect him over the years. Besides an occasional snide comment, Davis had shown grace when TK and Kari began dating. It was a maturity that TK never expected to see. Before Kari had kissed him, they had been friends. It was a relationship that he used to compare to his brother's relationship with Tai. The only thing was… their friendship wasn't that strong. It only went as far as mutual respect and friendly rivalry.

It was a friendship easily broken.

A sneeze once again sounded from their group, only this time it was from Kari.

"Hey Kari, why don't you change into some dry clothes? We can rest here for a minute," Tai urged, his voice soft.

She nodded in obedience and disappeared into their bedroom.

Everyone settled down. Ken went to the restroom, Matt slumped on the couch and Tai disappeared down the hallway while Sora began boiling some water for tea. TK noticed that she moved around the Yagami's kitchen as if it were her own home. He took a seat next to his brother on the couch and rested his chin in his palm, his eyes absently wandering to the balcony window. The rain poured so heavily from the roof that it seemed like a waterfall lay just beyond it.

"You ok?"

TK's eyes met his brother's. A smile formed on his lips. "Yeah."

"You're getting way too good at that."

"At what?"

"Pretending you're happy," Matt supplied, a frown stretched across his face.

TK chuckled. "I've had a lot of practice."

Tai reappeared and flopped down on the loveseat next to them, taking up the entire thing with an exasperated breath. "I'm wet, tired, cold, and hungry."

"You just ate," shouted Sora from the kitchen.

"Still hungry."

TK could hear Sora opening the fridge. "Well, there's some... well, something in here," she said, pulling out a plate of some type of gelatinous substance. "Is your mom still experimenting with tofu?"

Tai groaned. "Ugh… please put that away. Just looking at it makes me sick. That thing kept me out of school for three days."

Before Sora could respond, the door to Tai and Kari's room burst open and Kari came out in tears.

"Tai!" she cried.

He bolted up from the couch and was at her side in an instant. TK had also jumped to his feet, but he remained where he was.

"What's the matter, Kari?" Tai asked.

Her watery eyes met TK's for a moment and he felt his heart break.

"My clothes are gone…"

TK could see material clenched in her hands. It was her school uniform. And then the realization hit him. This was Davis's memory.

Kari had never told him details about the incident, but details had a way of finding their way around a group of friends, no matter how discreet they tried to be. She and Davis had kissed after school and that uniform was all the damn fool remembered. TK sat back down on the couch and ran a hand through his blonde hair.

Tai had come to the same conclusion. "I guess he didn't forget about mom's tofu loaf," he whispered.

TK heard Kari let out something between a sob and laughter.

Ken came out of the bathroom, rubbing his head and Kari immediately pushed past him, locking herself in. Ken stared at the closed door before turning to Tai. "Is everything ok?"

Tai shook his head and shrugged. "I don't know, man."

Sora walked up to them, holding cups of tea. "Here," she said, handing them to Tai and Ken. She went back into the kitchen and returned a moment later, two more cups in hand. She handed one to Matt, who accepted it with a nod of his head.

When TK accepted his own cup, Sora sat between him and his brother. Matt visibly stiffened.

"Do you love her?" Sora asked. Her voice was soft and sympathetic.

TK looked past Sora at the closed door. As hurt as he was, the moment Kari called for Tai and not for him, he felt lost. TK wanted to be the one she needed, the one that she counted on, the one who saved her.

He nodded. "Yes."

"Then you should forgive her," Sora replied, a warm smile on her face. She squeezed his knee and stood, returning to the kitchen.

As TK stood, he noticed Matt's icy eyes had focused intensely on his tea. They flickered upward for just a moment. "Be happy, Takeru."

TK placed his cup of tea on the coffee table and walked to the bathroom. Ken and Tai both retreated to couch.

He could hear Kari sobbing through the closed door. He took a deep breath before gently knocking.

The sobbing halted for a moment.

"Hikari…" he choked.

She didn't answer, but he could hear her trying to calm her cries.

"Kari," he murmured. "Can we talk?"

There was a shuffling sound before the door was cracked open. When TK entered the bathroom, she flew into his arms and he shut the door behind them.


	16. Revelations

**Innocent Games**

**Chapter Sixteen  
Revelations**

* * *

As darkness began to fall upon them, goosebumps rose on her skin. Yolei's damp clothes clung tightly to her and a cool evening breeze caused her teeth to chatter.

Davis walked ahead, seemingly unaffected by the chill of the night. Of course he was shirtless and his torso was dry. It was so easy for stupid boys… He had his damp clothes and bag of supplies strung over his shoulder. Unlike Yolei, he also still had his boots. She could hear them sloshing with each step he took.

Yolei was stuck with a pair of flip flops that had come from Davis's salvaged bag. They were too big for her, but it was better than walking barefoot since her own shoes sunk to the bottom of the lake.

Another breeze drifted through the trees and Yolei grabbed her arms, attempting to rub the chill from them. She sneezed and Davis glanced at her from over his shoulder.

"There's a place to make camp up ahead."

"Fine," she snapped, her lips shaking.

His jaw tensed and he turned back around, picking up the pace.

It was the first thing he had said to Yolei since they left the lake. She blushed when she remembered the way it felt to have his arm wrapped around her. It had seemed like a friendly gesture, but heat had risen through her and her heart beat so rapidly that she couldn't bear it. After only a few moments, she abruptly pulled away from him and Davis looked just as uncomfortable, muttering under his breath about finding the others and checking to see if his D-3 still worked after being submerged.

It did, but they were still the only lights that blinked across his screen. He spent the rest of the journey in the last hour of daylight clinging to his D-terminal, typing away furiously. Yolei checked hers and saw it was still devoid of any messages from the others. When she asked Davis if he had gotten any and he had only shaken his head in response.

Following him in silence through the dark colorless woods made Yolei feel alone and angry. She wrote a brief e-mail to Iori, cursing him again for deserting her and the tension between her and Davis only built as they trudged on.

He came to a sudden halt and she sneezed again. "Someone was here," he claimed, staring just ahead.

Yolei sniffled and caught up with him. The remnants of campfire sat between a fallen log and a small cave, where a bed of leaves awaited them. It looked as if someone had been there only the night before. "Do you think it was the others?"

Davis was looking at his D-terminal again and closed it shut, a scowl on his face. "Probably," he grumbled before shoving it in his pocket.

Yolei pulled her own D-3 from the pocket of her damp sweater. "We never had a problem getting messages on our D-terminals before. Do these things even work here?"

Davis didn't answer her. Instead he set down his bag and started heading back into the woods.

"Where are you going?" she asked, feeling panic rise in the back of her throat.

"Getting firewood," Davis replied before disappearing behind some brush.

Yolei almost chased after him but she gathered her courage and took a seat on the log. She began observing her surroundings, looking for any clue of who may have stayed in this place and where they had gone afterwards. Soon, the sound of Davis's footsteps faded and Yolei was left alone in the silence.

The woods were still. Only the occasional breeze rustling through the trees suggested life. It was getting really dark and Yolei felt her anxiety mounting. Loneliness crept up on her and slowly ate away her resolve. She felt abandoned. Her knees lifted to her chest and she wrapped her arms around them, peering out at the darkness from behind her glasses. How much firewood did they need? Why wasn't Davis back yet?

As if on cue, she heard a cracking in the woods from where he had gone.

"Davis?"

There was no answer. Yolei's shivering intensified and she bit her lip, watching the brush with anticipation. She heard the noise again.

"Davis?" she whimpered. When only silence followed, she clung onto herself more tightly. "Please answer me. It's not funny, ok?"

Another crack sounded in the woods and then, "HOLY SHIT!"

Yolei jumped up at the sound of Davis's shout and, without thinking, darted into the woods. Branches scratched her face and legs as she ran. "Davis!"

Just as she shouted his name, she reached a clearing and almost ran into his back. He was standing completely still, staring at the ground. Her face turned red with anger.

"I can't believe you! That is so not funny! You are such a jerk!"

"Shut up," he demanded, turning around. His dark eyes were firm and serious as he stepped to the side.

Yolei almost fell to the ground in shock as she stifled a scream. "What is that thing?" she shrieked.

A huge creature lay motionless on the ground. It was almost three times the size of a full grown man. It was hard to make out its features in the darkening night, but something about its face was horribly grotesque and humanoid. Its limbs were too large for its body and its skin was a sickly gray.

"I don't know," Davis swallowed. "But it's dead."

"How do you know?" she whispered, terror crawling in her voice.

"It's not breathing." He looked around and picked up a stick, poking the body.

"Don't!"

The creature remained still.

Yolei let out a sigh of relief and cast a glare at Davis. "It's not a digimon."

Davis raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"Digimon don't… die like this. They turn into data, remember?"

"Then what is this?"

They both stared at the corpse as the last bit of daylight fell beneath the horizon and a more haunting question plagued their minds.

What killed it?

* * *

Her mind swam with thoughts as tears continued to swim in her eyes.

"Mimi," Joe was beginning to sound frustrated, "I don't know what else to say to you. Why are you acting like this?"

He had come running after her, bursting with apologies, which only made her feel angrier and led to more tears.

"Would we have been friends?" she blubbered.

Joe looked taken aback. "What are you talking about?"

"If we never went to the digital world," Mimi whimpered, "would we have been friends?"

Joe pulled out a chair at the dining room table, joining her. "I don't know," he sighed. "If it weren't for the digital world, we wouldn't even be the same people we are now. I mean… you didn't even like me when we first met."

"You didn't like me either," she defended, wiping tears from her eyes.

A half smile crawled onto Joe's face. "Not really. I thought you were a spoiled selfish brat, actually."

When Mimi felt more tears rush to her eyes she looked away.

"But then I started seeing the real you," Joe continued. "You were caring and kind and the longer we battled, the more selfless you became. I admire you, Mimi."

Guilt suddenly overwhelmed her when she met his gaze.

"A lot of people reveal the worst sides of themselves when they face danger the way we did. I mean… you had some struggles along the way, but in the end you did what you had to do, even when you didn't want to. That's who I fell in-…" he suddenly stopped his speech, his cheeks flaring bright red. "Well, who I… uh…"

Iori came walking down the hallway staring at his D-3, saving Joe from further embarrassment. "We should get going," he said.

"Did you find the others?" Joe asked, cheeks slowly returning to their normal color.

"No," Iori shook his head and placed his D-3 back in his pocket. "The D-terminals still don't seem to be working either. I was thinking… we've always been able to get messages on the terminals, even between worlds. If they aren't working, it could be that the others are here, but the digivices just aren't picking them up."

"But they worked before in the black world… or whatever that place was," Joe said.

"I wonder if these memories are an illusion or if this place is just incomplete."

"Incomplete?"

Mimi didn't hear Iori explain or the following conversation. Her thoughts turned inward. When her family left for America it was less than a year after she returned from the digital world. Her feelings for Joe had started developing during their battle with the dark masters and only continued when they returned home. It had hurt to leave everyone behind, but her parents were scared to stay in Tokyo after all they had witnessed. They thought leaving Japan would leave the digital world behind them and keep it away from their daughter.

Mimi didn't do well alone. She had always had a group of friends around her, soaking up socialization like a plant soaked in the sun. Moving to a foreign country and having to learn to speak a foreign language made her desperate for company. She found companionship immediately in Michael. They bonded instantly when they discovered they were both connected to the digital world, but Mimi had still felt the void from what she had left behind. She filled it with him.

She selfishly filled heartache with many things.

She heard Iori mention something about school and she followed him and Joe out of Yolei's apartment blindly. When Joe fell behind and grabbed her hand, Mimi stood on her toes to kiss his cheek.

A blush immediately came over him, but he smiled down at her, content.

When she smiled back, pretending things were okay, she knew he had been wrong.

She hadn't changed much at all.

* * *

When she lifted her head to meet his gaze, there was so much pain in his blue eyes that the guilt almost devoured her whole.

"I'm so sorry, TK. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry," her words became indistinguishable from her sobs as she clung to his shirt, burying her face in his chest.

"Shhhh," he murmured, smoothing her hair. "I know, Kari. It's okay now."

TK helped lead her to the toilet seat where she sat down, reluctantly letting go of him. He sat down on the edge of the tub across from her and waited for her tears to subside.

"Do you love me?" he asked when she looked up from her hands.

"I don't deserve you."

He shook his head. "That's not what I asked."

"I love you so much."

A soft smile crawled on TK's face. How he could still smile at her after everything she did, she couldn't understand, but it was so like him. He always found hope in the most desperate of situations.

"Kari, I love you… I've never stopped loving you."

A small sob escaped her lips. "You shouldn't."

His smile faded and he stood up, touching his hand to his chin like he always did when he began to think. He walked back and forth in the small space for a minute before pressing his back against the closed bathroom door. He slid down and sat on the floor, resting his arms on his knees.

"Did you mean what you told Davis?"

Kari felt a fresh stab of pain penetrate her heart and she looked at him, confused.

"At the party," TK explained.

She hadn't realized he had been there. She bit back fresh tears and nodded. "I don't love him."

"Why did you kiss him?"

Kari took in a deep, shattered breath to calm the fresh round of tears that had appeared at this question. "I didn't mean for it to happen," she finally said. "He's never given up on me… and I was lonely."

TK looked down at his hands. "I shouldn't have left."

"No, TK, please don't blame yourself. I'm a horrible person, I was so selfish!"

"You aren't a horrible person."

Suddenly the truth came pouring from her lips. "Yes I am! I loved the attention he gave me. Davis is passionate and reckless and he doesn't care about the consequences, but I want that with_ you_, TK! I want you to lose your self control. I want _you_ to love me like that!"

His eyes widened in shock. She moved the floor and placed her hands on his knees. "I don't deserve you."

"I don't know what I'm doing, Kari," he whispered. "You're the only girl I've ever been with. I just want to do things right."

"I know…"

"But I do love you like that," he said and before she could react she was pulled into his arms and he covered her mouth with his own.

The kiss was so like kissing TK, soft and gentle and cautious. There was a sweetness to it that couldn't match any taste in the world. Then his hand was running through her hair and he guided her mouth open, slipping his tongue against hers. Heat ran through her body as their chests touched and his other hand ran beneath her shirt, tracing the outline of her bra. She shivered and he drew back, kissing her slowly and then leaving soft pecks against her mouth.

His face was flushed when he pulled away and she was breathless.

"But I'm not going to rush things to prove it to you," he whispered before sneaking in another quick kiss. "And I'm certainly not going to rush things in a bathroom with Tai standing outside the door."

Kari grasped onto him tightly, content in feeling the warmth of his chest and listening to the beat of his heart. At that moment, she didn't understand how she could have ever needed more.

* * *

Smoke drifted and mingled with the rain that poured from the edge of the balcony. He inhaled the cigarette deeply and held the smoke in his lungs before slowly letting it pour from his nose and mouth. It was strange to think of it this way, but it felt cleansing. Like the smoke washed away his worries. The cigarette was small now and he flung the butt over the edge, watching it fall with the raindrops to the ground.

The sliding door opened and Ken walked out. "Mind if I join you?"

"Sure," Matt nodded, pulling out another cigarette. He looked at Ken's pained expression and then held the pack out to him. "Want one?"

Ken eyed it for a moment and Matt was sure he was about to kindly reject his offer when the younger boy slowly pulled out a new cigarette. After lighting his own, Matt handed over the lighter.

Ken hesitated again before he lit up and took a small puff. He didn't make a face or cough and after he took another small drag, he sat at the small outdoor table.

Matt sat down in the other chair. "They still talking?"

Ken nodded. "Tai's starting to get nervous."

Matt glanced back through the sliding glass doors into the Yagami's living room. Tai was pacing back and forth in front of the couch, his digivice in hand. Matt could tell that he wasn't really worried about what the screen showed him, but rather about what was ensuing behind the bathroom door.

Sora sat on the couch, sipping tea, watching him. Occasionally her lips moved and Matt was sure she was talking softly in that calming, motherly voice she sometimes got. Her eyes drifted from Tai and caught Matt's through the glass.

Matt turned back to Ken. "He doesn't have anything to worry about. TK's a good kid."

A puff of smoke escaped Ken's lips and he looked slightly more relaxed than he had when he had joined Matt on the balcony. Matt noticed that smoking seemed natural for Ken. There was no curve of his lips as he blew in an attempt to look cool, the smoke simply drifted out of him as he exhaled. He held the cigarette between his thumb and fingers rather than trying to balance it between his pointer and middle finger like most new smokers would.

Ken didn't respond to his statement, he simply absorbed himself in watching the rainfall and Matt turned his gaze back into the apartment. Tai collapsed on the couch by Sora, a grumpy pout on his lips. Sora placed her hand on his arm as she spoke.

This time it was Tai who noticed Matt watching. He put up his hand and gestured for Matt to come inside. Sora's hand quickly returned to her cup of tea.

Matt's eyes narrowed and he put up a finger, indicating for Tai to hold on a minute. He deeply inhaled the cigarette, finishing it in record time, and, once again, flung it off the balcony.

Ken didn't even seem to notice as Matt stood to head inside. The blond watched the younger boy for a moment before taking out another cigarette and placing it and his lighter on the table next to him.

"Thanks," Ken said.

Matt slid the door open. "No problem."

Tai's arms were crossed and his digivice was lying on the coffee table. "You reek," he stated. Matt glared at him and he continued, "How much of a radius did Cody say these things have here?"

"You mean Iori," Sora corrected.

Tai shrugged. "What's the deal with that anyway?"

"It's his name," Matt said, sitting on the loveseat perpendicular to the couch.

Before Tai could respond, Sora intervened. "He's growing up, Tai."

"So?"

"I think he sees his nickname as childish. It doesn't really make sense for him anyway. Davis just insisted on it because he thought American names were 'cooler'," Sora explained.

"Matt still goes by his nickname, right Yamato?"

Matt ignored him. "The radius was five miles," he said, answering Tai's previous question.

Tai reached over and grabbed his digivice, chucking it at Matt. The blond caught it and looked at the screen. The same six lights representing their group blinked back at him.

"The school isn't that far away," Tai said, leaning back against the couch, his hands behind his head. "They aren't there."

Matt turned the device over in his hands before setting it down. "Or it doesn't work."

"Huh?"

Matt looked up at Tai's clueless expression. "Have you been able to communicate with the others on your D-terminal?"

Tai shook his head. "Not since we got sucked into TK's memory."

The sliding glass door opened and Ken stepped into the living room. He handed the lighter back to Matt as he sat down beside him.

"Not you too," Sora moaned.

Ken looked ashamed.

"One cigarette isn't going to kill him," Matt defended.

Sora met his gaze, her rubicund eyes glowing with anger. "He's just a kid, Matt."

"Ken's no more of a kid than we are," he returned.

"You shouldn't be smoking either."

"Sora, let it go," Tai interjected.

They both turned to Tai in surprise and he sat up straight, looking between the two of them.

"We've got more important things to worry about right now; this isn't a time to argue about bad habits. We're still separated from the others and Izzy's been taken," he paused and glanced at the bathroom door. "And TK and Kari are taking waaaaay too long in there!"

The door clicked open and TK appeared, red-faced with Kari behind him. "We're done," he murmured sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, Tai," Kari apologized. Her face was equally flushed and her eyes were red from crying.

Tai softened. "It's ok. Just don't…" he fumbled over his words. "If you two lock yourselves up for that long again, I'm coming after TK with a sledgehammer."

The blonde gulped.

"Relax, Tai," Matt interrupted, defending his brother. "We have more important things to worry about, remember?"

Tai grumbled something under his breath that Matt couldn't quite make out, but he noticed Sora turn bright red with both embarrassment and anger. She stood up abruptly, stormed out of the apartment, and slammed the door before anyone could stop her.

Matt looked at the closed door before turning to Tai, whose mouth had dropped so far open that a locomotive could have run through it.

"What the hell did you say to her?"

Tai's mouth closed and he ground his teeth together. "I didn't say anything _to_ her," he groaned. "I was talking to myself."

"We should probably get going," Ken suggested. He looked horribly uncomfortable.

"Yeah," Tai agreed. "You guys ready?"

Kari and TK both nodded.

When Tai turned to him, Matt glared icily. Tai was going to spill what he had said even if he had to beat it out of him.

Fortunately for Tai and unfortunately for Matt, Sora approached the blond when they joined her on the steps outside the Yagami's apartment. She allowed everyone else to pass including Tai, who bleated out a sheepish apology as he went by, before turning to Matt.

"You told Tai we slept together?"

Warmth spread across Matt's face until even his neck and ears felt hot. "Uh…"

"Why would you do that?" she cried.

"Sora," Matt stuttered. "He asked me once… I mean, he's my best friend, what was I supposed to tell him?"

"That it's none of his business!"

"We were together four years, I think everyone assumed…"

Her eyes glowed with passion, one that he had seen many times. A burning fire of both love and fury mixed into one. "I don't care!"

His own embarrassment faded into anger. "Like you didn't tell anyone."

Tears began to swim in those fiery eyes. "I didn't. I didn't tell anyone."

"Why?"

"It was special, Matt. It was just for us."

There was a sharp pang in Matt's chest as visions of their time together spun in the background of his mind. Four years of instinct overwhelmed him and he moved forward to pull her into his arms, but she turned away.

"I'm sorry, Sora. I'm sorry I told Tai… I'm sorry about whatever I did to make you hate me."

She slowly shook her head. "I don't hate you," she whispered.

"Then why? Why is it over?"

Sora turned around and her soft lips moved only to be interrupted.

"C'mon you guys! We gotta go!" Tai called from the ground floor.

Sora took in a deep shaky breath. "We should go," she murmured before heading down the stairs, leaving Matt standing in her wake.

As he thudded down the steps after her, he found himself reaching into his pocket and pulling out another cigarette.

He was sure he had never needed one more than he did now.

* * *

"You will regret this," bellowed a deep booming voice.

This time the sound hardly had any effect on him. A protesting voice here and there was becoming all too familiar as Animamon continued to gather his "ingredients."

Izzy had emptied himself. It was something he had perfected in the past, letting go of pain and emotion until he felt nothing. It was a coping mechanism he developed when he first overheard his parents talking about his adoption. He had used it when he had given up his curiosity and occasionally he did it just to escape. He could become cold, calculating, and hollow. In his current situation, he thought it was better to feel nothing at all. The desperate cries of his fellow captives were so much easier to bear when he emptied himself of feelings.

The physical pain, on the other hand, required concentration to push aside. The best way to cope was to sleep, but his arms were numb from being held in the same position, his insides were sick, and his head was pounding. It was impossible to sleep. He only faded in and out.

He didn't notice what Animamon said to his newest prisoner, but there was something different in the response that came after.

"You will learn that you cannot truly control a soul. In the same way you cannot create one," the deep voice stated. There was something chilling about the way this new captive spoke and Izzy allowed himself to examine the voice carefully.

Claws clicked across the floor and the sounds of shackles echoed in the blackness. "I'm afraid you'll find yourself mistaken very soon," Animamon returned.

"No," the deep voice spoke with authority. "You can manipulate and change us, but the soul is a powerful thing. When you release me, I will destroy your world."

Animamon laughed, that horrible scratchy sound that caused Izzy to empty himself the best he could so he could escape the horror of the memories that the laughter returned to him.

"When I release you," Animamon growled. "You will no longer be you. You will be my creation."

The voice didn't respond and Izzy could hear Animamon leaving, sure he had the last word.

"That is where _you_ are mistaken," the new captive said. "I will be an abomination and you will have created nothing but your own destruction."

Its laugh made Animamon's feel like it had been a cheerful chuckle. No amount of detachment could keep the terror from reaching Izzy as he hung helpless in the darkness.

* * *

The fire was warm against his face and almost singed the small hairs on his knuckles as he prodded the burning embers with a stick. It felt good to burn, he decided. It reminded him that all of this was real.

Davis shuddered as he thought back to the decaying monster he had found on the forest floor. It was only lying just yards away from them now, stinking of death. Questions ran through his mind… what was it, how did it get here, where was here, why was it here, what killed it, what will happen if something else like it appears and isn't dead?

He didn't like feeling helpless, but when he thought of the huge monster lying there and the lack of Veemon by his side, that was exactly how he felt. How could he fight something so huge on his own?

Davis pulled his stick from the fire and fingered a pocket knife he had hidden in a pocket of his cargo pants. It was the only weapon he had and it probably wouldn't do too much good against a twenty foot monster. He pulled it out and started fiddling with the different attachments, watching the metal gleam in the firelight. Davis stared at the sharpest knife for a moment and then began to use it to peel the bark from his stick. He whittled away until it had a sharp point and then he began to thrust the stick in the air, stabbing an imaginary foe.

It probably still wouldn't help against a huge attacker, but it made him feel better.

"What are you doing?"

He looked up to see Yolei standing above him. She had the cynical look on her face she always got when she thought he was being childish.

"Nothing," he grumbled as she sat on the log beside him. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

She sneezed and then rubbed her nose. "Can't."

Davis returned to whittling his stick, tearing away more wood from the point than was needed. He picked up another, thicker stick and began sharpening it ferociously.

Yolei remained silent as he worked, staring at the blazing fire.

They stayed like that for awhile, Davis carving his weapons while Yolei stared at the flames, completely useless. She would be tired in the morning, which probably meant she'd be grumpy and emotional, and he really didn't feel like dealing with her mood swings anymore.

After sharpening half a dozen sticks, his mouth stretched open in a yawn. Davis wiped the shavings from his blade and returned the knife to its position before placing it in his pocket.

"You still awake?" he asked.

Yolei didn't answer; her gaze was completely swallowed up in the flames. He could tell by the stiffness in her back that she hadn't fallen asleep.

"I'm going to sleep," he claimed, standing and stretching his arms. Once again she ignored him, so without another word Davis walked to their shelter beneath the small cave and settled down in the leaves.

He wasn't sure how long he had slept. It could have been anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours when he became restless and woke to the sound of crying. It was soft and muted, like she was trying to stay quiet.

Firelight reflected on Yolei's glasses, hiding her eyes from his view, but Davis could see her shoulders shaking.

"Damn it," he muttered, pushing himself up and walking towards her, rubbing sleep from his eyes. This was getting old fast. If she was going to keep blubbering like this, he at least had the right to know why, but she was remaining more silent about her turmoil than she had about anything in her life.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" he asked as he reached her.

Yolei still gave him no response, her shoulders just continued to shake as she stared at the fire.

"If you're gonna keep freakin' out like this, the least you can do is clue me in."

When Davis moved in front of her, her gaze remained glued to the fire and her face contorted slowly, trying desperately to hold back more audible cries that begged to come forth. Her shaking fingers clutched the fabric of her skirt.

"Yolei…" he murmured, kneeling in front of her. He found himself softening toward the sad pathetic heap before him. "C'mon, you can talk to me."

A choking noise escaped her lips and broke into a fit of sobs. He watched Yolei crumple before his eyes, heaving mercilessly and burying her face in her hands, pushing her glasses up until they became tangled in her hair. It was unlike any crying Davis had seen her do before, a hopeless, horrible, gut-wrenching weeping. He felt like there was nothing he could do but watch.

"I-I'm so scared," she bawled. Her body wracked with sobs and she was unable to speak further.

"Hey, don't worry," Davis said. "That thing is definitely dead. We're safe."

Yolei shook her head, her face still buried in her hands.

"What are you afraid of?"

The sobs just kept coming, but no answer with them.

For some reason, Davis couldn't be angry with her for being so tight lipped this time. He just desperately wanted to see his friend be herself again. He wanted her to fight with him over who had the last dumpling, to fumble over her words as she gushed over some guy, to stand proudly as she cracked a code that everyone thought only Izzy could accomplish, or gorge herself on junk food with him as they tried to dominate each other in the latest video game.

Davis grabbed her glasses from her hair before they fell to the ground and she started trying to calm her sobs.

"Yolei, look at me."

She shook her head again, wiping tears from her eyes with the back of her hand.

He placed his hand beneath her chin and forced her to meet his gaze. Her eyes and face were red and strands of her violet hair were plastered to her cheeks from her tears. She tried to pull from him and he grabbed both sides of her face with his hands.

"Listen," he demanded. "I don't know what you're afraid of, but it's going to be ok."

Yolei's eyes were wide and Davis loosened his hold on her face to push her tears away with his thumbs.

"You don't have to be brave, Yolei. I'm here. I inherited the crest of courage, remember?" A grin worked its way onto his face. "I've got enough for both of us."

Her caramel eyes searched his and his grin slowly faded as he felt heat crawl across his cheeks. Then she was against his chest, clutching him and dampening his shirt with her tears.

"I don't want to be alone," she choked.

Davis was still, his cheeks flaring, unsure how to react. His mind wandered to Kari and he suddenly found himself understanding Yolei's fear. He slowly wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm here," he repeated.


	17. A New World

**Innocent Games**

**Chapter Seventeen  
A New World**

* * *

It was dark by the time they reached the high school. Of course, it had already been dark due to the rain clouds that hovered ominously above this portion of the city, but now she could barely see through the pouring rain as night fell.

Their group streamed into Odaiba High, leaving puddles behind them as they entered the main hall. Footsteps echoed in the empty school and Tai's voice rang against the walls as he shouted, "Anybody in here?"

There was no answer and he groaned loudly before handing out his orders.

Sora kept her eyes glued to the tiled floor as water pooled by her feet. They had brought a few umbrellas from the Yagami's, but the umbrellas did little good in the storm as it swept the rain sideways against them.

There had been no trace of the others in the Ishida home. Sora had stayed outside, but she noticed the sour expression on Matt's face when he exited the apartment and how he immediately lit up another cigarette.

"Sora, why don't you and Ken check out the computer lab?"

Sora's eyes burst from the floor to meet Tai's and she found herself glaring at him.

Tai took a step back before regaining his composure. "Uh," he cleared his throat, "we'll meet back here in ten."

He avoided meeting her gaze and he hooked an arm around TK's shoulders, trying to come off menacing even though the blonde now had a good four inches on him. "TK and I are gonna check out the cafeteria. Matt, take care of Kari for me."

In the past, Matt and Tai would banter about their siblings' relationship, but Matt only narrowed his eyes and started down the hallway, Kari hesitantly trailing behind.

"Be nice, Tai," Kari called as they disappeared through the doors that led to the gymnasium.

"So, now that you're back with my sister…" Tai's voice trailed off as he and TK went the opposite direction and the swinging doors of the cafeteria clicked shut behind them.

Sora shuddered and hugged her winter jacket more tightly around herself. The school seemed so cold in the absence of the bodies that usually filled its halls. She spotted her locker just past where Tai had disappeared and happier memories played through her mind. She had shared quick, sweet kisses there with Matt only weeks ago. It was the same place she often met Tai after school for a game of one on one when Matt was tied up with band practice.

"Sora?"

Her gaze shifted to Ken, who looked guilty for interrupting her thoughts.

"I… well, I don't go to this school," he mumbled apologetically. "Do you know where the computer lab is?"

Sora felt her face soften and that warm motherly smile took over her dreary expression. "I'm sorry, Ken. It's this way." She led them down the hall, past both the cafeteria and gymnasium, to the staircase.

Together they climbed and Sora noticed a pained expression cross Ken's face and his hand slowly move to his temple. "Are you ok?"

He nodded.

"Ken…"

He removed his hand from his head. "It's nothing."

"It's the dreams, isn't it?"

Ken didn't answer her. Instead his dark eyes remained downcast as they finished climbing the stairs and turned down the hall. Sora decided not to press him, but she felt her heart go out to the younger boy. He had so much darkness in his past, so many painful memories. Sora felt guilty when she thought of how her own memories haunted her. Her heartache was nothing in comparison to the pain Ken had known in his short life.

When they reached the computer lab, the glow of electronics seeped from under the door and a low sound reached Sora's ears. Ken put his hand out to stop her from proceeding. They listened for a moment, hiding against the wall, when suddenly the door burst open.

A whoosh of pink flew past Ken before he could do anything to stop it and Sora found herself impaled by something soft and soaked from rain.

"Mimi!" a startled voice called from inside the room. Joe and Iori came spilling out, almost running Ken over.

"Mimi?" Sora asked and the soft, damp body pulled away from her.

"Sora! Oh, Sora! It _is_ you! I'm so happy!" Mimi squealed before gripping her tightly in another embrace.

A genuine smile crossed Sora's face and she returned the hug while Joe and Iori exchanged words with Ken.

"Where's Davis and Yolei?" Ken's worried voice tore away Sora's smile.

Mimi slowly pulled away from Sora and the look on her face answered Ken's question.

They were missing.

* * *

"So you haven't seen them since we were in that… place?" Tai asked.

After ecstatic shouts of joy and claps on the back, Tai's cheerful attitude had faded when Joe broke the news of their separation from Davis and Yolei. Now Tai paced back and forth in the cafeteria as the rest of the group reunited around a lunch table.

Joe nodded. "Just before we saw the light, Davis passed out. We left Yolei with him while we went to check things out. We thought we'd be right back."

"You left Yolei with him by herself?" TK asked.

Iori and Mimi both looked equally ashamed. "It was my idea," Mimi admitted.

"She thought they should bond," Joe explained. His fingers created air quotes around the word bond.

"Seriously?" Sora asked, glancing in Mimi's direction.

Mimi was fidgeting in her seat. "Am I the only one who thinks they'd make a cute couple?"

Joe noticed Ken's gaze fall to his clenched hands and was grateful when Matt and Kari came through the cafeteria doors.

A scowl was on the blonde's face. "Tai, I thought we were meeting in the…" he trailed off as he noticed the three new additions in the room.

"Kari!" Mimi cried, once again impaling another shocked female.

Joe stood from the table and shook Matt's hand. "It's good to see you again."

"You too, Joe," Matt said, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Iori bowed in greeting. Matt gave him a curt nod and Kari hugged him gently. When she pulled away, her eyes scanned the group.

"Where's Yolei?" The name of their other missing member went unspoken.

"We were separated from her and Davis while we were still in the black world," Joe answered. "We don't know what happened to them."

Kari sat down at the table next to TK and fixed her eyes on her lap.

"We already checked Yolei's apartment," Iori said, returning to his seat. "We think they had been there."

"We're pretty sure they stopped by Davis's too," Ken added.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Tai asked. "They're here somewhere. Let's go find them!"

"Hold on a minute, Tai," Matt demanded. "Our best leads are gone. Where else would they be?"

Tai grumbled an insult under his breath that Kari scolded him for.

"Did you have any luck opening the digiport?" Sora asked Iori.

The youngest member shook his head. "No," he said. "The computer didn't react to my D-3 at all. All we got was blue screen. We tried Odaiba Elementary with no luck either."

"Damn it," Tai muttered. "I wish Izzy was here."

The group fell silent and the dread grew.

Sora broke the silence. "Do you think they would've gone to your place, Ken?"

Ken nodded. "It's possible."

"It'll take us awhile to get to Tamachi without the railways," Joe stated.

"Ah, no worries," Tai said, waving his hand. "We'll just hotwire a bus or something."

"Tai!" Kari reprimanded.

"What? It's not like this is the real world. None of this stuff belongs to anybody."

"He's got a point," Matt interjected. "But does anyone know how to hotwire a vehicle?"

A chorus of no's and silence followed before Ken hesitantly lifted his hand.

Tai laughed. "I keep forgetting about your dark side."

A blush ran across Ken's cheeks and he was about to defend himself when he realized there really wasn't a point. He couldn't change the past.

* * *

He was neither in control nor out of control of the body in which he resided. He simply witnessed through its eyes and felt the pull of its multi-conscious soul. This state of existence crushed him, like a ton of bricks rested against his chest. It felt as if there wasn't enough room to breathe.

There was an echo of pain in his/its mind. Thoughts strained against each other, pulling the body of the creature into madness. Conflicting memories and emotions battled in the being until one rang supreme and the part of him that existed within succumbed to its will. Hatred boiled up inside the creature; a will of deep seething hatred for the destruction of life and the creation of a monstrosity.

It was a feeling that hadn't existed in the previous creature he had been a part of. Unlike the other creature that fumbled to its death, this body was fighting to survive in its unnatural state.

So it could destroy everything.

Inside the black room, beneath his shackles, Izzy began to laugh and weep.

* * *

The rain swept against the side of his windows just as it had the day Davis called him about his short-lived affair with Kari.

Ken guessed that the reason Tamachi was still shrouded by the storm of Davis's memory was because he knew Tamachi better than either Sora or Iori.

The Ichijouji apartment was relatively accurate. Davis had remembered the kitchen and the contents of Ken's fridge the best. Clothes were missing from Ken's drawers just as they had been from Kari's. A few photographs and paintings were distorted or gone completely, but just about everything else was in its place.

Iori had explained what had happened when he, Joe and Mimi opened the door to his apartment in Odaiba. In the end, the group had come to the conclusion that since they had come to the replica of Japan through Iori and Sora's memories, they were the only ones who could fill in the gaps that Davis had left behind.

Neither Sora nor Iori were frequent visitors to the Ichijouji home, so things remained as imperfect as his best friend's memory.

Ken stopped in front of the picture of his brother and felt a grateful smile curl on his lips. Davis had remembered it exactly how it was. Ken shifted a bag on his shoulder, now even more determined than before.

"Are you leaving?"

The soft whisper startled him and he turned around to see Kari standing just behind him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," she murmured.

Ken glanced to where Tai was sleeping, wrapped in a blanket on the floor, and motioned for Kari to follow him outside. They slipped on their shoes and when the door clicked behind them, he shifted the bag on his shoulder again, keeping his eyes glued to the ground.

"I'm going after Davis and Yolei."

"Do you know where they are?"

Ken shook his head. "I'm going to try to find a place where I can enter my own memories. Davis is my DNA partner; we have a lot of memories that coincide… and Yolei… I just think I have a better chance at finding them without the others."

"You don't want anyone to come with you?"

"I need to do this on my own," he said firmly. When he finally lifted his gaze, he wasn't met by scolding. Instead Kari wrapped her arms around him.

Ken's face grew hot. He could tell by her hug that she understood why he had to do this alone. He didn't want to drag anyone into his past.

When she let him go, he saw a light in her eyes that had been distinguished for months. "Don't let your memories haunt you, Ken. You aren't that person anymore."

"Thanks, Kari."

A blush crawled across her cheeks and her eyes fell to the ground in embarrassment. "If you find them before we do… can you tell Davis something for me?"

"Sure."

"Tell him I'm sorry," she choked. "I'm so sorry for hurting him."

"Should I tell him about you and TK?" Ken instantly regretted the words that flew from his mouth when he saw the pain in her eyes.

Kari nodded slowly. "Do you think he'll forgive me?"

Ken smiled as he thought of his best friend. "I know he will." His face grew more serious. "You need to forgive yourself. Darkness feeds on guilt. Don't let it overtake you."

Her head bobbed mechanically and a sad smile drew across her lips.

"Tell Tai not to come after me. You need to get out of here. This place isn't stable."

Kari's brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Kari?" Tai called. His attempt at whispering was loud enough that they could hear it through the door.

Ken shifted the bag on his shoulder. "You better go back inside."

"Be careful, Ken."

"Don't worry. I'll bring them both back and you and Davis can work things out. Everything is going to be ok."

Kari gave him another quick hug. "Thank you," she cried. As soon as she released him, she disappeared into his apartment and he could hear her telling Tai she had just needed some fresh air.

As Ken disappeared down the steps and entered the heavy rain, he felt relieved. It seemed as if the rain was already beginning to wash away his sins.

* * *

The morning light burned into her eyelids until they fluttered open. Her vision was blurred and she could feel something warm and heavy draped over her side and deep breaths on the back of her neck. Yolei's cheeks burned and she pushed Davis's arm off her. He mumbled something unintelligible in his sleep and rolled onto his back, snoring loudly.

Yolei sat up and her hand began fumbling around until she found her glasses beside her, half-buried in the bed of leaves. The gray world came into focus as she placed them on her face. She quickly pushed herself up and made her way to the remnants of their campfire, plopping down on the log. The crisp morning air cooled her cheeks.

She vaguely remembered Davis forcing her to the cave to sleep after her cries had subsided. She had been hysterical; the dark night and the mysterious dead creature had pushed her anxiety to the edge until all her fears exploded in a bout of uncontrollable weeping. She had never felt so alone.

Yolei picked up one of Davis's sharpened sticks and prodded the coals of the fire, stirring up the heat so she could warm her hands.

Ever since they had been sucked into this world from the house party, all her doubts and insecurities felt like they had been pulled to the surface. It was as if someone was forcing her to face all she would rather push aside.

Yolei had always struggled with feeling overlooked and alone. Being the youngest of four siblings, she had to fight for attention from her parents. They were so busy with their store and her other siblings, it was hard to ever get a word in with them. School wasn't any better. She was admittedly loud and pushy (something she had to do at home to be noticed) and turned people off, particularly boys she showed any interest in.

She instantly thought of Ken. He seemed oblivious to her affections no matter how obvious she made her feelings. Of course, she never outright told him how she felt, but she flirted with him enough that he should have gotten the hint by now. Yolei was sure he cared about her; the way he had held her when they first entered the black world still made her heart quicken.

But then he had left her. Whenever they grew closer, Ken would put up another barrier in place of the one that had been torn down. When it seemed like he might be returning her feelings, he suddenly pulled away, shrouding himself in darkness.

Yolei wondered if she could ever make anyone happy.

She placed the stick in the dirt and watched the sun rise through the colorless trees.

"You ok?"

The sound of Davis's voice startled her and Yolei gasped, pressing her hand to her chest. She hadn't heard him get up.

"You almost gave me a heart attack," she scolded, turning to face him.

He was standing just behind her, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "Sorry," he yawned. When he removed his hand from his face, she noticed a blush crawl across his tan cheeks, almost covering the faded bruises from his fight with TK. Her own face grew hot and they both looked away simultaneously.

"We should probably get moving," Davis suggested. He looked embarrassed and awkward and Yolei felt a smile form on her lips.

"Thanks, Davis," she murmured shyly.

He cleared his throat and waved her off, though the redness on his face seemed to spread. "Sure," he grunted, picking up the sharpened sticks that littered the ground.

The awkward tension grew between them, but this time Yolei didn't feel so alone.

* * *

"You just let him go?"

Kari looked to her lap, ashamed.

"Hey, lay off, Matt," Tai demanded.

Matt only glared icily at him.

The sun had only risen an hour ago, but everyone was already awake and crowded in the living room of the Ichijouji residence. Only the faintest hint of daylight could be seen through the dense storm that raged above them.

Matt had been the first to notice Ken's disappearance and when he informed the others, Kari admitted what had happened in the middle of the night.

TK squeezed her knee gently and she forced a grateful smile.

"It's ok, Kari," Sora said. "I don't think you could have stopped Ken even if you wanted to. He hasn't been himself since we were brought here."

"I do wish you would have told me he left," Tai admitted to his sister. "_You_ may have not been able to stop him, but I think my side-tackle's still good enough to take down the Rocket."

Sora groaned. "It's not that good, Tai."

He looked dejected. "What?"

"No offense, but this isn't the time to be arguing about soccer skills," Joe said, breaking up the argument before it began. Mimi was sitting on the couch beside him, the side of her thigh gently pressed against his. "Do you have any idea where he was going?" he asked Kari.

She shook her head. "He thinks if he goes into his own memories he might be able to find the others."

"He shouldn't have gone alone," Iori said, a frown etched on his face. He was kneeling on the floor and his hands were gripping the fabric of his pants. "I should be looking for them too."

"We _are_ looking for them," Matt said. "But now we have to find Ken too."

"Ken said we need to concentrate on getting out of here," Kari interjected. "He said this place wasn't stable."

"What does that mean?" Mimi asked.

"I wonder if he's talking about the gaps in the memories," Joe thought aloud. He and Iori met glances for a brief moment.

Iori sighed as the group looked at him and Joe expectantly. "I don't think this is an illusion."

"Why not?" TK asked. "I know you weren't there, but Devimon's illusion felt just as real as this. What else could this place be?"

"Before Izzy was taken, he was working on an experimental program that had to do with the digital world," Iori began, his eyes lowering in thought. "He'd been showing me, Ken, and Yolei some of his theories about the creation of worlds. According to Gennai, the digital world was created by a combination of data from Earth and human dreams, thoughts, and beliefs. When our team was pulled into the dream world by Oikawa, we got just a glimpse at how the digital world was created. The dark ocean is another parallel dimension."

"It manifests the darkness in our hearts," Kari murmured.

Iori nodded. "Izzy thought that it was possible to replicate the power of these dimensions to create a new world. He was analyzing their digital code and creating a program that could manipulate data and memories. I didn't really understand the programming aspects of it, but basically he made a prototype that had the capability to create a world designed completely to the specifications of the programmer."

"So this is a computer program?" Tai asked, confused.

Iori shook his head. "I think this is a new world."

Matt took a seat at the kitchen table. "You think someone took Izzy so they could use his program to create this place?"

"Yes," Iori replied.

"That doesn't explain why _we're_ here," TK said.

"We're supplying the dreams and memories necessary to create this world," Joe responded.

"That's creepy," Tai murmured.

"So, what did Ken mean when he told Kari this place was unstable?" Sora asked.

"Izzy's program was only a prototype. He didn't actually plan to implement it," Iori said. "There were still a lot of kinks to work out. Humans were never meant to be in the world as it was being created…" he paused, suddenly looking uncomfortable. His hands tightened their grip on the fabric above his knees.

"This is unnatural," he continued. "When we reached a gap in this world, something reached into my mind to fill it in. Izzy never intended the program to do that."

Matt broke the silence that followed Iori's proclamation. "If Ken knew about Izzy's program, why didn't he tell us before?"

"I only just figured it out myself," Iori admitted. "It wasn't until we were able to travel into someone else's memory that I thought it was possible. It's almost as if the world is being built as we travel through it."

"If this is a new world, how are we supposed to escape it?" Mimi's voice quavered.

"There's got to be a portal or something," Tai declared as he began pacing in the middle of the room. "We just have to figure out where it is and how to use it, but first, we've got to find out where they're keeping Izzy."

"I don't think Izzy is here," Joe said. "Whoever took him is probably using him to work the program that created this place."

"I think he's in the digital world," Iori agreed. "The real one."

"Damn it," Tai cursed and stopped pacing. His fists clenched tightly. "It's my fault we're separated. I thought we'd find Izzy here… and I couldn't wait."

"You were worried about him, Tai. There's no way you could've known," Sora said.

"I thought we should separate too," TK added, also looking ashamed.

Kari grabbed his hand and squeezed it gently.

"So what do we do now?" Mimi asked.

There was silence.

Tai walked over to the window. The pouring rain seemed to fill his ears as he stared out at this new world. "We're going to make a portal."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Matt scoffed.

Tai looked back into the living room where everyone was waiting expectantly. "Well, if this place is made from our memories… then we just have to remember one!" he shouted enthusiastically.

"I don't think it's that simple, Tai," Joe said. "Someone is picking the memories they want to use from our minds."

"Then we'll just have to beat that someone, won't we?"

Matt frowned. "How do we beat someone that isn't here, and without our partners?"

Tai pointed to his large mop of hair. "With our heads! We've just got to learn to pick the memories we want to have created."

"You haven't had to relive your own memory yet, have you?" Iori asked Tai.

"Er… no…"

"You can feel it… someone picking through your brain and choosing which memory to use. It's like being a spectator in your own mind."

Tai didn't look discouraged. "We'll find a way to fight it."

Matt didn't look convinced. "I think we need to go after Ken and the others first."

"We will," Tai returned. "But if we get sucked into another black spot, I want everyone to try and remember a portal we've used in the digital world. Fight that mind-reading memory sucker!"

"I'm with you, Tai," Kari proclaimed, sending a warm smile up at her brother.

"That's the spirit, Kari!" he grinned and looked around at the others enthusiastically. "Come on guys!"

"Well, it can't hurt to try," Joe agreed. "The human mind is a pretty powerful thing."

Tai beamed. "Let's make this new world, our world!"

He didn't notice the pain and desolation on some of his team's faces. TK, Sora, Mimi, and Iori all remained silent, remembering how they had been helpless to resist the harvest of their dreams.

* * *

Ken pulled his blazer from over his head as he came under the shelter of the abandoned building. Rain poured from the edges of the roof like waterfalls.

It was strange to see the high school so deserted, but it had always been a place of loneliness for him. Even after the deactivation of his dark spore and the loss of his increased IQ, Ken had remained in the most competitive circuit of private schools. The students seemed unable to come to terms with how boy-genius Ken Ichijouji was grazing the bottom of his class. He kept to himself and hardly anyone bothered to approach him. Many of his classmates had been with him in primary school when he surpassed most teachers and looked down on everyone as if they were insects. Now they spread rumors about the mental breakdown that caused the downfall of a prodigy.

He smiled as he pushed through the doors. Davis had only been here for a soccer match between their schools. The inside would be a mystery to him.

Ken welcomed the darkness like an old friend.


	18. A Memory's Resolve

**Innocent Games**

**Chapter Eighteen  
A Memory's Resolve**

* * *

A breeze rustled the leaves in the trees, stirring up the silence that surrounded them. Davis's eyes darted around and his grip tightened on the sharpened sticks that rested on the back of his shoulders.

"Did you hear something?" Yolei whispered from behind him.

The gray forest stilled and Davis shook his head. "Nah, it was just the wind."

As they continued down the cleared pathway, a strange colorless stop sign seemed to grow organically from the ground, tilting with the growth of a tree. A lopsided grin formed on Davis's face at the strangeness of the digital world, but it quickly faded when his stomach rumbled loudly.

"I'm so hungry…" he whined.

Yolei shifted the bag on her shoulder and searched its contents as they walked. She pulled out a pack of crackers… or what used to be crackers. Her nose crinkled in disgust at the mush in the small plastic bag as she held it out to him. "Well… this was a pack of peanut butter crackers, but it looks like it got wet in the lake."

Davis wiggled a hand that he had wrapped around his bundle of sticks, signaling her to hand them to him.

She handed them over, looking repulsed. "You aren't going to eat them, are you?"

He shrugged the best he could with the branches that weighed down his shoulders. Upon closer inspection, the crackers didn't even seem to resemble food and they reeked of pond scum.

"Ugh! These smell worse than you do!" he exclaimed, flinging the mushy package into the forest.

He watched Yolei's face flare up in anger. "You're one to talk!" she retaliated.

Davis laughed. "You didn't seem to mind my stench last night."

Yolei stopped walking as her expression changed from anger to a cross of humiliation and rage. "You are such a conceited asshole!"

"Confident, Miyako, a _confident_ asshole," he joked as he turned to face her.

She threw a stick at him, which, due to the awkward position his arms were stuck in, he was unable to dodge. He ducked directly into the oncoming object and it hit him in the forehead.

"Damn it, Yolei!" he cursed, throwing down his makeshift spears. He reached up and rubbed the forming welt. "I was joking!"

"Well, it's not funny!" she shouted, picking up a rock.

"Yolei, do NOT throw that at-" Davis was cut off as the small stone whizzed past him, just barely missing his shin. "Ok, this is seriously getting old!"

Before she could throw anything else, he swooped down on her and grabbed her around the waist.

"Davis, what the hell are you- LET ME GO!" she shrieked as he lifted her over his shoulder and held her there securely. The bag she had been carrying smacked his backside and his hand graced the bare skin of her upper thigh, running just beneath the end of her skirt.

"I'll let you go when you promise to stop throwing stuff at me!" he panted, fighting the blush that was forming on his face. "Damn, you're heavy!"

"Then put me down!" she cried. She beat his back with her fists and a foot kicked into his thigh, just barely missing certain valuable organs.

Davis crossed his legs, trying to protect himself, and wobbled beneath her weight. "Watch it!"

"Let go!" Yolei screamed, flailing violently in his arms.

"You're crazy!"

"PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW!"

Suddenly, Davis heard a loud cracking noise behind them and swung around, cursing himself for being so stupid. His spears were out of reach and he was defenseless with Yolei in his arms. Just as he had moved, Yolei had tried to wrench free of his grip and they both went tumbling to the forest floor, Davis landing on top of her. His face landed directly in her chest and as soon as he caught his breath, he lifted his head up, blushing madly.

Yolei gasped, the wind knocked from her lungs. Davis could tell she was gathering air to scream at him and he pressed his hand on her mouth as he checked his surroundings. She seemed to comprehend the situation and stayed silent, fear filling her eyes as he continued his search.

The forest stayed still. Had he imagined it? He was sure he heard a twig snapping, but it had been hard to hear anything over Yolei's angry shouts.

When the threat of danger seemed to pass, Davis found himself noticing the way Yolei felt beneath him. Her thin body curved in places he had never noticed before and her small breasts had felt fuller than he imagined they would. He could feel her stomach rise and fall against him with each breath. Heat flooded through him and all sanity left his mind. Male hormones completely took over his thought process and his brain didn't even comprehend what he was thinking until he felt teeth clamp on the palm of his hand.

He shouted and flew backward violently, cradling his hand. Teeth marks dented the skin, but she hadn't drawn blood.

Yolei proceeded to sit up and wipe dust from her top, looking quite proud of herself.

Davis stared at her in disbelief.

"Davis…" Her eyes met his and he gulped. He wasn't sure how to explain himself and he was sure the mortification was showing on his face.

"There's a vending machine behind you!" Yolei shouted gleefully.

Davis's jaw dropped and he watched her speed past him. Sure enough, just down the path, a vending machine stood, unplugged in the foliage. He stood and dusted himself off, watching her examine it. She adjusted her glasses and cautiously tapped it with the back of her hand, most likely checking for Numemon.

Davis felt his heartbeat slow and he inwardly cursed as he pushed himself from the ground.

"Do you have any digidollars?" Yolei asked after making a thorough inspection of the machine.

He turned his pockets inside out, pulling out his pocket knife and a Zippo. "Nope."

Yolei let out a puff of air in frustration before fumbling through her bag. Her face tensed and he noticed her teeth clench tightly before she turned the bag upside down and dumped the contents into the dirt, grumbling under her breath. She got down on her hands and knees and began picking coins from the ground.

Davis noticed her tight biker shorts peeking out from beneath her miniskirt and he turned around quickly, focusing on picking up his makeshift spears. He still hadn't gotten used to the provocative outfit his friend was wearing. He was so used to seeing Yolei in the usual hodgepodge of layers that he wasn't sure how to take the exposure of her skin. Sure, he had seen her in a bathing suit before, but even at the beach she tended to cover herself with a wrap when she wasn't swimming and at that time he was too busy ogling Kari to notice.

Pictures of Kari's petite frame swiftly filled his mind and the feel of her small body in his arms returned a heavy sensation in his chest. He remembered how perfectly she had fit against him.

"Pocky?" Yolei asked. She was suddenly beside him, holding out a box of the chocolate coated biscuits.

The pain in his stomach pushed all thoughts of girls from his mind. He dropped his spears and grabbed the box from her with exuberance, pouring pocky sticks into his mouth. They stuck out from his lips as he chewed and he watched Yolei shake her head at him and return to the machine, pushing more coins through the slot and gathering a number of assorted snacks.

She came back to him munching happily on a bag of potato chips. "I think I'm in heaven," she sighed happily through her mouthful.

Davis snatched the bag from her hands as he swallowed the pocky.

"HEY!"

He popped a handful of chips in his mouth. "You got more," he mumbled, crumbs flying from his lips.

"But those were mine!" she yelled, making a grab for the bag.

Davis dumped the remainder of the snack portion of chips into his mouth and chewed, beaming a closed mouth grin at Yolei's dismay.

She smacked him in the back of the head. "Jackass."

Davis coughed, choking. When he managed to stop, he grabbed a water bottle that had been dumped out of Yolei's bag and took a swig. It was warm, but it helped the half-chewed chips slide down his throat.

Yolei sat on a rock and opened a bowl of uncooked instant ramen. He watched her in horror as she poured on the fake seasoning and began picking it apart with her fingers, munching in satisfaction.

"That is an insult to ramen chefs everywhere," he proclaimed.

"I like it this way," Yolei replied, popping another chunk of uncooked noodles into her mouth.

Davis shook his head. "I mean instant ramen. It's horrible. You know, Mimi said that in America that's what they think ramen is."

Yolei shrugged. "So?"

He looked offended. "Those things give ramen a bad name!"

Yolei stared straight at him and popped another piece into her mouth, a grin of defiance plastered on her face.

"Sick."

She laughed. "You know, you've never made me any ramen."

"Well, when we get home, that'll be the first thing I do," he grinned before turning thoughtful. "That is after a long hot bath and I sleep for two days straight."

Yolei chewed on another crunchy chunk and he watched her face fall. "Do you think we'll ever get home?"

"Of course we will!" Davis replied, grabbing a bag of cookies from the stack of snacks Yolei created. He ripped it open and shoved one in his mouth, sitting beside Yolei on the rock.

"I wonder if our parents are looking for us," Yolei said, munching slowly on her snack. "I bet Poromon had a heart attack when I didn't come back."

"Yeah," Davis agreed, swallowing his food. "Poor DemiVeemon… I bet Jun's driving him crazy without me there."

The thought of the absence of their partners brought dreariness over them. The gray imitation of the digital world suddenly seemed cold and empty again.

Davis quickly downed the rest of the cookies, stood and patted his stomach, satisfied. Yolei was staring absently at her unfinished ramen. "Don't worry, Yolei. We'll see them again soon."

She looked up at him and he grinned toothily at her, trying to dispel the frown on her face. "C'mon, let's go," he said, holding a hand out for her.

Yolei forced a smile and grabbed his hand and Davis pulled her to her feet, trying to ignore the view he had of the low-cut shirt she was wearing as she stood to his level. He instantly turned to his wooden spears and gathered them up, throwing them back to their position over his shoulders. When he turned around, she was bent at the waist, throwing supplies back into her beach bag and his cheeks burned.

Davis looked to the ground and began juggling a small pebble on his foot before he looked up again, aimed, and…

"OW! What the hell?" Yolei yelped, dropping the bag and rubbing her backside.

"You were asking for it!" Davis laughed.

She picked the bag up again, careful to bend at the knees, and proceeded to smack him with it, hard. Davis stumbled forward, almost falling to the ground. He continued laughing while Yolei seethed.

"You pervert!"

She refused to speak to him while they continued their journey, but Davis thought it was worth it. It was better to see her angry than depressed. Plus, she didn't stay mad with him for long.

When they ran into the blackness, she grabbed onto his shirt in fear.

* * *

Without Ken's hotwiring skills, the bus that the group had taken to Tamachi was rendered useless. Iori had attempted to replicate what Ken had done, but only came out looking dejected and ashamed. Tai had also tried and came out with his hair slightly larger than it had been before.

They decided to walk.

Most everyone was still umbrella-less. The boys had allowed the girls to use the few they had, but the tsunami's wind kept the rain sweeping against them anyway.

Matt found himself stealing glances at Sora. Her red hair was plastered to her face and she was shaking from the cold. Every instinct inside him wanted to pull her to him so he could shield her from the elements.

The distance between them made him wish he could light up a cigarette.

"Where do you think Ken went?" Tai shouted over a clap of thunder.

"No idea," Joe replied. Mimi was huddled beneath his arm, trying to shield them both with her umbrella. "But we need to get out of this storm."

"He would have gone somewhere he knew Davis didn't remember," Iori said, blocking the rain from his eyes with his arm.

"He could be anywhere," Matt muttered.

"Let's try in here!" TK hollered as he gently pulled Kari beneath the shelter of a building.

No one bothered arguing with him and the group crowded under the overhang. Matt felt someone bump into his shoulder and Sora looked away when he glanced at her.

"The library?" Mimi asked, reading the kanji on the door.

"Nice, TK," Tai chuckled. "Davis probably hasn't stepped foot in this place."

TK shrugged, wiping water from his face. The hand he had hooked around Kari rubbed her arm in an attempt to warm her. "I wasn't really trying to insult him. We actually used to study together at the one in Odaiba."

"Davis studies?" Tai quipped.

"Occasionally," TK said nonchalantly. "I think he mostly just wanted to impress Kari. One time I caught him looking at a raunchy magazine he had snuck behind 'The History of Feudal Japan'."

Tai laughed heartily and a noticeable blush formed on Kari's cheeks. When he was through he glanced over everyone, the stoic expression of a leader forming on his face.

"This could be our shot to create a portal," he said. "I want everyone to go in there thinking about a portal we've used in the digital world. We can beat this thing."

Everyone nodded in agreement and they became silent as they took a moment to concentrate. Matt noticed that Sora was biting her fingernails, something she tended to do when she was uncomfortable or nervous.

"Sora?" he whispered.

Her red brown eyes met his just as Tai opened the library door.

Their color was the last thing that ran through Matt's mind as the blackness overtook them.

* * *

It was eerily silent in the darkness. The only sound around him was the same constant noise he had heard since he had been brought to this place; rhythmic steady breathing.

In comparison to the shrieks, cries, and protests of Animamon's captives, it was soothing.

The captives were gone now, at least from this place.

Izzy could still feel their presence elsewhere; feel _its_ presence, _his_ presence.

All his theories on life, souls, and a spiritual world had changed these past few days. There was so much more to the universe than he had imagined. He had spent his life believing in data and the cold hard facts that the world produced. The spiritual world was something beyond his comprehension. The digital world seemed to touch on spiritual attributes, but Izzy had always thought it had just gathered data from human myths. He never imagined that he could exist in two places at once… be two beings at once. He never imagined his soul could be ripped apart. Before this, he wasn't sure he really had a soul.

The damage that had been done to his was irreversible. Physically, he could heal, but a part of him had already died with the creature that he had first been attached to.

As Izzy hung in the darkness, surrounded by the breaths of the unknown, he felt sleep fight to overtake him. He was so tired. His eyelids slowly drooped and he faded out of consciousness, but there was no rest for him in his dreams.

* * *

Memories raced through his mind just like before, except this time one lingered and the feelings rushed back as if he were still the same person he had been then. Darkness and hatred lingered in his subconscious, covering the pain and guilt that brought him to this place. He could barely remember loss. There was only superiority and a bitter taste in the back of his mouth.

_The glow of monitors reflected in his glasses as he beheld the wonder of his creation._

"_He's perfect," Ken murmured, a deranged grin crawling across his face as he watched Chimeramon destroy the city. Fire consumed buildings and homes as the digimon fled before him. They were weak, pathetic, creatures and he would take over as their ruler._

_The game had never been easier than this. Chimeramon was unstoppable and his key to success._

"_Yes! Run! Be filled with fear!" Ken laughed, the glory of explosive destruction in his eyes. "With this, the digital world is now in my hands!"_

_He watched in satisfaction as his base created control spires in the rubble of the city. Soon, he could declare victory over his adversaries. He was amazed that he hadn't already destroyed the other children. They didn't have the intelligence to withstand his program, he was sure it was only luck that had allowed them to get so far. He would beat them in this game, like he beat everything._

_He chuckled hollowly as the remainder of the city smoldered beneath him when a deep laughter joined his own. It suddenly felt as if darkness moved from the back of his neck into his mind, shrouding his thoughts of conquest in horror. He fell to his knees in pain, squeezing his eyes shut._

_Wormmon scurried behind him. "Master, what's wrong?"_

_Ken panted as he tried to push away the darkness that engorged his mind. "It's nothing."_

"_Maybe you should rest for a minute, continuing might be pushing yourself," Wormmon said, concern evident in his voice._

"_I'm fine," he answered, though he wondered if the little maggot was right. He hadn't slept in days. He couldn't sleep with victory so close at hand. _

_Suddenly, a deep chortle filled his mind again and he glanced up, searching for the owner of the voice. _

"_You cannot escape from the Dark World," it said._

_Ken's heart started in his chest. "What?"He could vaguely hear Wormmon asking what was wrong again in the background, but the darkness had grown stronger and the voice echoed in his brain._

"_Look closely at what's under your feet," it declared._

_He looked down automatically and fear gripped him. It was as if a hole had appeared in the floor of his base. Dark water waved beneath him. Memories flooded his mind, guilt and despair twisted into undeniable hatred as he allowed the darkness to overtake him. It had been his escape at the time. The dark ocean had twisted his sorrow and hatred of himself into hatred for everyone else. It had been cleansing, a baptism of blackness. _

_Now, it would swallow him. _

_He screamed, suddenly powerless against a greater force. Wormmon yelled for him and suddenly the hole was gone and the voice had disappeared._

_Shaky breaths escaped him and he ignored Wormmon's pleas. He was just tired, that was all. Ken pushed aside the memories and despair and allowed hatred to seep through his veins. He laughed maniacally and stood, his creation once again reflecting in his glasses._

"_Go Chimeramon. I shall live up to my name and be the king of the digital world."_

_Power and darkness ran through him and destroyed the horror in his chest. He laughed as he conquered his own fears. _

_He would rule this place and he would forget the things that had brought him here. He would forget the guilt and sorrow that forged the darkness. He would forget his pain. He would forget his brother._

Ken fell to his knees, his whole body shaking.

The base was just as he remembered it, dark and cold except for the constant glow of monitors, unveiling the digital world. The digimon city smoldered on one while the desert that had been the scene of the Digimon Kaiser's downfall was on the other.

Tears threatened to seep from the corner of Ken's eyes and his hand automatically went to the back of his neck where the dark spore still sat imbedded beneath his skin. It had deactivated years ago, but he often wondered if his words to Yolei after the defeat of MaloMyotismon were really true. Would believing in himself and his dreams really keep it from activating again?

The digital world had been at peace for so long now and the power of darkness had been held at bay, but now, being sucked into this world and into memories he had hoped to forget, Ken was unsure if he had the power to stop darkness anymore.

He took a deep breath and pushed the thoughts aside, forcing himself to his feet. He hadn't left the others to relive his past. He needed to begin his search to find Davis and Yolei. In many ways, he felt like they were his key to fighting the darkness. Their cheerful persistence was often what got him through the bad memories and dark moments of his life. He had to find them.

Ken's footsteps echoed against cold walls as he walked to the Digimon Kaiser's control panel. It was so familiar and yet foggy.

He wondered if this recreation of his base would have access to this new world the way it had in the digital world. His thoughts wandered as he messed with the controls. Why would someone want to recreate this?

Ken knew beyond a doubt that Izzy's program was being used to create this place. It was the only thing that made sense, but what would possess someone to use his memories as the Digimon Kaiser to create a new world? He assumed a digimon was behind this since Izzy's mother and Tentomon had heard Izzy's voice through his computer, but what digimon would want the power of the Kaiser replicated?

Ken's eyes narrowed as he found the controls of his surveillance equipment. The screen showing the desert changed to a view of a bridge leading to a city surrounded by water. His first thought was Odaiba, but the bridge wasn't Rainbow Bridge and the city wasn't Tokyo. Monuments from cities on Earth scattered across his screen and Ken stared in shock.

"Machinedramon's city…" he murmured.

His voice echoed on the walls and Ken turned around, half expecting Wormmon to answer him. Dark halls stood empty. He was alone.

He continued his scan and the other monitor changed from his image of the smoldering city to the ocean. For a moment, his heart started in his chest until he noticed the blue skies and tranquil waves. Blankets were strewn across the sand and a volleyball rolled in the wind. Ken thought back to a time when the younger chosen children had spent the day enjoying the peace they had fought so hard to establish in the digital world. This had to be Davis or Yolei's memory.

It was only just beyond the city Chimeramon had destroyed. That didn't make any sense. The beach was nowhere near this portion of the digital world. The program was truly creating something new.

Ken shook his head and lowered the base to the ground. As he started down the dark corridors to the exit he found himself shrugging his shoulder and flipping his damp blazer as he would a cape. He cringed at the involuntary action.

His past was more present than he ever wanted it to be again. A new resolve filled his heart. He wouldn't allow this world to exist, not a world that brought back the sins he hoped to erase. He would find Davis and Yolei and they would destroy its creator. He had no mercy for a creature so willing to recreate the evil he had tried so hard to forget.

* * *

This time, the memory didn't feel like a dream. Without the influence of alcohol, Davis could feel the prodding in his mind as something searched within him. He didn't even think of struggling against it, his entire consciousness was taken over by the thoughts that played through his head.

He could feel the warm breeze against his face as one memory lingered, stronger than the rest.

_The leaves rustled in the trees in the park just across the street, but Davis's eyes were entranced by the house that stood before him. He whistled._

"_Damn, Mimi must be loaded!"_

"_I can't believe she lives on Fifth Avenue! It's everything I dreamed it would be," Yolei cried, dropping Poromon as she clasped her hands under her chin. _

"_Yolei!" Poromon whined, flapping his little pink wings until she grabbed him back up, apologizing._

"_Wait until you see the inside," TK replied as he walked up to the steps of Mimi's home, carrying Patamon in his arms. He and the other digimon were fast asleep, exhausted from their battle with Chocomon and their journey back to New York from Colorado. _

_Davis let out a yawn while Kari knocked on the door politely. "Do you think Mimi will mind us all spending the night?" she asked TK._

"_In a house like this, what's six more?" TK joked, a wide smile on his face._

_Kari giggled and Davis ground his teeth, forcing his way between them. "Alright, how long does it take to answer the door?" he grumbled, lifting his hand to knock again._

_Before his hand came into contact with the door, it swung open and Mimi stood before them, wearing a tight shirt, revealing her mid-drift and a short skirt. "You made it!" she squealed, grabbing Davis in a hug. _

_He blushed profusely and she let him go, moving onto the other children, hugging each one._

"_Of course we did!" Davis claimed, adjusting the goggles in his hair. "Veemon digivolved to Magnamon and beat the snot out of that virus, didn't you buddy?" _

_DemiVeemon's wide red eyes blinked sleepily from his arms. "Sure did, Davis," he gurgled before immediately falling back to sleep._

"_Well, that's only part of the story," Iori said, redness fading from his face as Mimi released him. Upamon snored quietly from under his arm. "We're glad that you and the others are back."_

"_Where did Chocomon bring you guys?" Yolei asked._

_Mimi put a hand under her chin thoughtfully. "I'm not really sure. Honestly, I can't remember a thing! It feels like a weird dream."_

"_We're so glad that you're ok," Kari said, shifting the sleeping Gatomon in her grip. _

"_Would it be alright if we all stay here tonight? The next flight for Tokyo doesn't leave until tomorrow afternoon," TK wondered._

"_Of course you can!" Mimi exclaimed. "Mom will be so happy to have Japanese guests, her English is still horrible." She stepped back into the house and motioned for them to follow her._

_Davis stared in awe at the high ceilings as they stepped into the Tachikawa house. It was unlike anything he had seen in Japan._

"_I can't believe you live here," Yolei squealed. "It's gorgeous!"_

"_It's nice, but I really miss our condo in Odaiba," Mimi smiled. "Follow me, I'll give you the grand tour and then make you guys some dinner, I bet you're starved!"_

_DemiVeemon suddenly perked up in Davis's arms. "Did someone say dinner?" he yawned. _

_Davis chuckled. "Not yet, buddy. I'll wake you up when it's ready, ok?" _

_His partner stretched his tiny blue arms and snuggled back into his grasp. "Ok," he mumbled, closing his eyes._

_When Mimi had showed them to their rooms, Davis set DemiVeemon down on a pillow, fondly rubbing his head as the little monster rolled over in his sleep. Iori and TK set down their bags._

"_Where'd Mimi say the bathroom was again?" he asked the other boys. "I gotta take a piss." _

_Iori shook his head at Davis's vulgar language as he sat down on the bed._

_TK pointed to his right. "It's at the end of the hall."_

"_Thanks, TS," Davis grumbled, not bothering to stick around for TK's correction. He couldn't help but still be upset by the fact that he and Kari had gone to America alone together. At least Davis had been the one Kari contacted when they needed help… that had to mean something, right?_

_The bathroom was where TK had said it would be. Davis closed the door behind him and sighed, thinking back to their fight against Chocomon. TK and Kari's digimon were the ones who had released the golden digiegg. They were Hope and Light, with the power of angels. How could he measure up to that? Sure, Magnamon was frikkin' awesome, but he didn't share a bond with Kari's digimon the way Patamon did. _

_Davis zipped his pants and washed his hands, flinging water from his fingertips into the sink and wiping his hands on the side of his shorts rather than using a towel. He wondered if Veemon could digivolve into some kind of angel. Maybe then he'd stand a chance with Kari. _

_When he went back into the hallway, he could hear scuffling in Mimi's room._

"_What?" Yolei's voice cried out in disbelief and Davis peeked in the room, seeing her and Kari looking at a picture on Mimi's dresser. Gatomon glared at the girl from where she was curled up on Mimi's bed and Poromon only mumbled in his sleep._

"_The hell's all the screaming about?" Davis asked, walking in behind them. _

_Yolei picked up the picture and shoved it in his face. "Look!" _

_Mimi was beaming in a pink dress, clutching onto a handsome blonde in a black suit. "Isn't that Michael?" Davis asked._

_Yolei looked near tears. "He was supposed to take me on a date!"_

"_That picture doesn't necessarily mean anything," Kari soothed, placing a hand on her shoulder._

_The violet-haired girl pulled away. "It's fine," she mumbled. "I guess he was just being nice to me for Mimi's sake." She placed the picture back on the dresser and straightened out her glasses before pointing a finger in the air dramatically. "Besides, Wallace is ten times cuter than Michael is!"_

_Davis narrowed his eyes. "Stupid blondes…" _

"_Still jealous?" Yolei asked, grinning at him. _

"_I'm not jealous of him or anybody!" Davis exclaimed, crossing his arms in a huff._

"_Not even TK?" she wiggled her eyebrows at him._

_Kari's face turned red and Davis gritted his teeth. "Especially not TJ," he shot back._

"_Sure, you aren't," Yolei teased, nudging him._

_Davis was about to erupt in a tirade against her when Mimi came back into the room, carrying a basket of laundry. "I just put a casserole in the oven," she said, smiling at them. "It'll be done in about twenty minutes." _

"_That sounds great, thanks Mimi," Kari replied, her cheeks still burning._

_Davis almost stormed out of the room when the laundry in Mimi's arms suddenly began to move. _

"_EEK!" Mimi screamed, dropping it on the floor._

"_Ouch!" a little voice yelled and DemiVeemon popped out, laundry on his head. "I was just trying to see what was for dinner!" he exclaimed. _

_Davis's sour expression rolled off his face and he held his hands out to his partner, who gladly jumped in his arms. "I thought you were sleeping, you little trouble-maker."_

_DemiVeemon giggled. "Davis, do you like my hat?"_

_Davis grabbed the pink fabric from his partner's head. "You goofba-" He stopped mid-word and blood almost shot out of his nose as he noticed the triangle and three stringed undergarment he held._

_Mimi blushed madly and grabbed the thong from him. "Stay out of my clothes, you little pervert!"_

_Before he could react, Mimi had shoved him and DemiVeemon out of her room, closing the door in his face. He blinked in shock._

"_What was that all about?"_

_Davis turned around to see TK standing behind him, Patamon was perched on his head, letting out a large yawn._

"_Nothing!" Davis stammered. _

"_Mimi didn't like my hat," DemiVeemon pouted, drooping in his arms._

"_What hat?" TK asked._

"_None of your business!" Davis huffed before pushing past him and closing himself in their room. "Stupid blonde…" he muttered._

_Iori looked up from his lap, where Upamon was sleeping. He watched Davis with his big green eyes silently. _

_Davis let DemiVeemon jump from his arms onto the bed before turning his eyes back to the younger boy. _

"_What?"_

"_Acting like that isn't going to help you win over Kari," Iori stated calmly._

_Davis crossed his arms. "How would you know anything about girls, Cody? You're only ten!"_

_Iori shrugged. "I don't need to know anything about girls to know you're being a jerk."_

_Davis was about to retaliate when he felt a whelm of disappointment flood his chest. He collapsed on the bed next to DemiVeemon and laid back, sighing in exasperation. "Aw, man. Kari probably hates me…"_

"_I don't think you're a jerk, Davis!" DemiVeemon cried, jumping on his partner's stomach. His big red eyes watered with love. "You're my best friend in the whole world!" _

_A sad smile curled up the corner of his mouth and he patted the little blue monster on the head. "Thanks, buddy. You're my best friend too."_

_Despite his partner's exclamation, Davis realized Iori was right. Kari probably liked TK because he was nice to everyone. As much as he hated to admit it, TK was calm, collected, and he had a bond with Kari that Davis just couldn't compete with._

_If he wanted to be with Kari, he needed to stop competing with TK and just show her how much he cared about her. At that moment, he decided whatever happened, he wouldn't give up. He'd show her how much he loved her and he wouldn't have to be a jerk to do it._

_When TK reappeared to tell them dinner was ready, Davis lifted himself from the bed and clapped the blonde on the back, giving him a large grin. "Thanks, TK. C'mon DemiVeemon, let's eat!"_

_The little blue monster jumped into his arms, cheering and Davis laughed at the stunned look that appeared on TK's face. He passed by the blonde and chuckled to himself as he made his way downstairs. He might just have fun with this._

Davis was standing in the foyer of Mimi's house, Yolei clutching to his shirt. The high ceilings and expensive artwork was just as he remembered it, although, he wondered if it was really right. A few paintings looked fuzzy and he noticed that there was a swirled photograph hanging from the wall. Yolei was right, his memory sucked.

"Is this Mimi's place?" Yolei asked, quickly pulling away from him.

"Yep," he replied as he set his spears down on a bench against the wall.

"Do I smell casserole?"

Davis put a hand to his stomach, feeling it rumble. Snacks just didn't stay with you long enough. "I sure hope so."

Yolei darted to the kitchen, looking thrilled. It was probably the happiest he had seen her since they had been sucked into this world. He followed behind her and plopped down at the dining room table as she pulled a hot casserole from the oven with a potholder.

"I'm so glad you remembered this," she exclaimed, setting the steaming dish on the table.

He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms behind his head, feeling triumphant. "Heh, it was nothing."

Yolei rolled her eyes as she returned again with plates and forks. "Like you had any control over what you remembered."

A cocky grin formed on his face. "Don't underestimate my power."

She only shook her head in response and plopped a big heaping pile of casserole on each of their plates. They both dug in happily.

As Davis chewed, he noticed how the bright sun shined through the large windows and bounced off Yolei's violet hair. It was a tangled mess and he could see the dirt smudges and scratches on her face from their excursion in the woods. At the moment, her disheveled look was the only thing that reminded him that they weren't really back in America.

She suddenly stopped chewing and looked up at him through her glasses, meeting his gaze. He felt heat crawl across his cheeks.

"You remembered Kari, huh?" she asked.

Davis paled. "Yeah," he mumbled, returning to his food.

It was then that he realized how strange it was that once his memory passed, he hadn't thought of Kari at all.


	19. Butterflies and Treetops

**Innocent Games**

**Chapter Nineteen  
Butterflies and Treetops**

* * *

Matt didn't even attempt to fight the power that stole through the images and memories of his mind. He didn't have the chance to. Naturally his thoughts had been filled with images of her and the reaper of his dreams filtered through the years they had spent together until one moment settled into his consciousness.

He grasped onto it like a lifeline, happy to experience a time before the animosity grew between them, a time they were still innocent.

_The smell of burning firewood was thick in the air and he could see the flames dance through his closed lids. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to sleep. His mind teemed with worried thoughts and what ifs, causing his heart to race._

_His eyes darted open at the soft sound of sniffling and he pushed himself up from his makeshift bed in the sand. It was coming from the other side of a tall cactus. Matt slowly stood, carefully tiptoeing past his sleeping comrades until he saw the source of the noise._

_Sora sat on the ground, hugging her knees and staring at the sky. The moonlight outlined her red hair and the glow of the fire sent warm flickers of light across her face. She was alone; Biyomon was still sleeping with the others._

"_Sora?"_

_Her haunting auburn eyes, swimming with tears, met his and she looked away in shame. _

_Matt quietly sat down beside her and joined her in watching the digital stars. Sora wiped her face with the back of her glove and they sat together in silence. A cool breeze stirred stray hairs against his forehead and he absently swiped them away, wondering why his face felt so warm. He could hear Sora shift beside him and saw her pull her knees more tightly to her chest from the corner of his eye. _

"_What if he's dead?" her voice suddenly whimpered. _

_Matt turned to her and saw fresh tears rolling down her cheeks as she continued to gaze into the dark night. His icy eyes narrowed. "He's not dead."_

"_How do you know?"_

"_Because he's Tai," Matt chuckled softly. "He's too stubborn to die."_

_Sora choked on laughter through her tears. She loosened her grip on her knees and leaned back, her eyes still on the sky._

"_Izzy's positive that he was sucked into a portal," Matt continued, his voice becoming serious. "He's out there somewhere."_

_Sora nodded, but Matt could tell that the words fell short of comforting her. Somehow, seeing her so lost and sad caused a heavy feeling in his chest. Sora's maturity and kind heart had given her the role of surrogate mother for the group of vagabond children. Now, without Tai, she suddenly seemed just as much a kid as the rest of them._

"_Joe told me Tai was too afraid to go through the firewall to come after me," Sora spoke up again, digging the toe of her sneaker into the sand as she gazed into the night. "I've never really seen Tai afraid… not since we were really little. If he was ever afraid, it was always for other people. He was scared about his sister Kari getting sick, he was afraid my mom would get mad at me when I came home with a black eye after soccer practice. He's never worried about himself before. He must have been pretty terrified for that firewall to stop him. I guess he realized how careless he was being before."_

_Sora's face tightened up as she fought back more tears, but Matt said nothing._

"_But he went through that firewall to save me… all by himself. When he rescued me from Datamon, I figured he'd rushed in there as reckless as always. I just assumed he was playing the hero. I wish I'd known what he'd gone through… I would have told him thank you." _

_Matt watched as the tears slid free of her lids, forming tiny rivulets that reflected the glow of the fire. He let out a soft sigh and leaned back onto his hands beside her, returning his gaze to the moon. The past few days they had searched the desert high and low for any sign of Tai and Agumon and found nothing. Tension and arguments started sprouting in the group, everyone had different opinions about what they should do, and Matt had noticed Sora becoming more and more distant._

_They were running out of hope. The supposed defeat of Etemon and loss of Tai brought no news to them; Gennai remained hidden and silent. What were they supposed to do now? To be honest, Matt had his doubts about their purpose in this world._

_As the cynical thoughts plagued his mind, Matt suddenly felt pressure on his fingers. Sora's gloved hand had rested on top of his and as his eyes turned to her face, he noticed a blush crawl across her cheeks._

"_Thank you, Matt," she whispered, her eyes meeting him shyly. "For listening."_

_His face grew warmer in the cool night. "No problem."_

_Sora looked as if she was about to say something more when they heard footsteps in the sand. Izzy suddenly appeared, his dark eyes widening when he noticed the pair. Sora pulled her hand from Matt's._

"_Uh, sorry," Izzy mumbled apologetically. "I was going to use the facilities… or the lack thereof."_

_Matt pointed to his left. "Over there's a good place."_

"_Thanks," the redhead replied before heading to a nearby cactus. _

_Tentomon came buzzing past them, following his partner. Matt and Sora shifted further from each other._

"_Izzy! How am I supposed to protect you when you don't tell me where you're going?"_

"_This is one of those situations humans prefer to keep private," Izzy whispered patiently. _

_Matt chuckled as the pair disappeared and pushed himself from the ground, wiping sand from his jeans. He glanced down at Sora, whose face was still tinted pink. "I can take over watch if you want."_

_She shook her head. "That's ok. I'm not really tired."_

_Matt nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Wake me up when you want to get some sleep."_

"_Sure," she murmured, turning back to the sky._

_He turned to head back to the camp._

"_Matt…"_

_He looked back and saw Sora was still staring into the night, but a strange smile had formed on her lips. "Hm?"_

"_You're a good friend."_

_Matt's fingers found their way to his crest and he gripped it tightly. His heart thumped against his breastbone and butterflies flew through his stomach as he watched a cool breeze play with the strands of hair against Sora's forehead. He saw her eye shift toward him and he gave her a curt nod before turning around and heading to his place beside Gabumon. After checking on TK, he lied in the sand and stared at the stars._

_Minutes later Matt heard Izzy and Tentomon return to the camp; the redhead was murmuring something quietly under his breath to his partner. After a while, they were asleep and the dying fire and the sounds of his softly breathing companions was all that filled the silent night. Matt's eyes slowly became heavy as thoughts continued to race through his mind. _

_Thoughts faded into dreams. It was the first time he ever dreamt of Sora. There were no tears or worry in her crimson eyes. She was smiling warmly and it was just for him. _

_When he woke up that morning, she was gone._

The desert sand was already beginning to heat up in the morning sun, but the breeze that blew against his face was still cool.

"So, whose memory is this?" Tai spoke up, seemingly unaffected by their journey into the void and the rapture of their dreams.

"It's mine," Matt replied, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the towering cactus beside him.

"I'm guessing this is a memory of the digiworld," Joe stated, pushing up his glasses and shifting a bag on his shoulder. "I mean, where else can you find thirty foot tall cacti?"

"But which desert is this?" Tai asked, peering at Matt. "What'd you remember?"

Matt's gaze fell to the sand. "We're in the desert where you and MetalGreymon defeated Etemon."

"That's great!" Tai exclaimed. "That means there might be a portal home!"

Matt shook his head. "No, I didn't remember the portal." He noticed Sora shift uncomfortably beside him. Her fingernails were still in her mouth.

"What? Did you try?" Tai's voice took on a hint of a whine.

Matt turned to him sharply. "You can't try, Tai. Whoever is doing this is going to take whatever memory they want. I didn't have a choice."

Tai didn't look fazed. "Well, I'm not giving up. Just wait until it's my turn. I'm going to give this sick dude a run for his money. He's not playing with my head!"

"How do you know it's a he?" Mimi asked, looking a little miffed.

Tai crossed his arms. "Don't get all women's rights on me, Mimi." His expression abruptly turned playful. "Though, you have a point, it would be _so_ like a woman to want to screw with people's minds."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Matt noticed that all three females were glaring at the eldest Yagami.

"Ha, ha… actually, I'm probably right, it's totally a guy. We're sick bastards."

"We should probably try to find our way out of the desert before noon if possible," Iori proclaimed, looking at his D-3.

"The amusement park isn't far from here," TK spoke up.

"Is that the one where Tai found you after he came back from our world?" Kari asked.

TK nodded and Matt felt his heart clench at the memory of leaving his little brother behind.

"Man, you were so tiny back then," Tai laughed, looking up at the taller, yet younger boy.

TK stood a little straighter, the corner of his mouth upturning in a haughty smile.

"Stupid growth spurt," Tai muttered.

TK chuckled and Kari gently grabbed his pinky finger; her face held a look between pride, love, and some type of sweet desperation. TK then pulled her entire hand in his and shot her a soft smile which made Kari look near tears.

Matt suddenly felt the emptiness of his own hand, but when he looked for Sora she had moved away from him, whispering something to Mimi. He turned back to Tai. "Let's get going."

Tai's goofy expression fell. "Sure," he returned, a frown forming on his lips as he noticed the tension on the blonde's face.

Matt looked away and began walking in the direction of the park. He could hear the others slowly begin to follow him, some of them chatting away while others remained silent. His fingers stretched into his pocket and pulled out his pack of cigarettes. There were only two left.

"Shit," he cursed under his breath.

As he lit up and inhaled his first breath of nicotine, his heart felt even heavier. The pack would be empty soon and there would be nothing left to calm his nerves. There would be nothing left at all.

* * *

Sweat trickled down his forehead as he trudged through the sand. His blazer was wrapped around his waist and a bag thumped against his side as he moved, echoing with the waves that crashed upon the shore. Ken swiped his hair to the side and it stuck there, plastered to his skin from the heat.

He pulled a can of diet soda from his bag and flicked the tab open, finding comfort in the sound and the coolness in his hands.

After he had trekked through the smoldering digimon city and onto the beach, Ken had found the site where they had spent the day by the sea. Beach chairs and towels still remained, as well as a cooler filled with melting ice and a few diet drinks. The bag of snacks that Ken was sure had been there during the time of the memory was missing and it comforted him knowing that Davis and Yolei had probably taken it with them. He put all his hope in the possibility that they were still somewhere close.

Ken took a long sip of the soda, happy for the source of cool refreshment. His legs were burning from the hike through soft sand, but he wouldn't allow himself to rest. He had to find them as soon as possible. They had been here and he had to catch up before they were sucked into another memory.

As he looked into the distance the sight of trees jutting out into the shoreline slowly became visible. Ken picked up his pace and started jogging. This had to be where they had gone, if only to seek shelter from the sun.

It took him a few minutes to reach the edge of the jungle. Thick colorful foliage and strange trees balancing on roots above the earth surrounded him and his heart raced.

"Davis!" he shouted, his lungs bursting as he tried to catch his breath. "Yolei!"

The forest greeted him with silence.

Ken's dark blue eyes searched the forest floor, desperate for some evidence of his friends' presence. Just ahead, a little to his right, a broken branch hung haphazardly from a tree limb. The corner of his mouth turned up with the clue and he started hiking in that direction, following snapped foliage and footprints in the mud.

The air in the woods was thick and stuffy, but still significantly cooler than the sunny beach. Ken thought back to his last memory there. It had been close to two years since they had all vacationed in the digital world together, about a year after they defeated MaloMyotismon and Oikawa sacrificed himself to renew the world that Ken had grown so fond of.

The digiworld held mixed feelings for the ex-Kaiser. It was a place that reminded him of some of the darkest times of his life as well as some of the happiest. It was where he became completely alone, but also where he met the best friends he had ever known. The digital world was his downfall and his salvation.

It's where he first saw her. Back when he was the Digimon Kaiser, Ken didn't really notice the violet haired, slightly awkward and over-exuberant computer nerd. Then, Yolei was just another pest to be disposed of, a nuisance in his grand conquest. He was well aware of her infatuation once he had seen her at the soccer game in Odaiba, but she was just another screaming fangirl, one that happened to unknowingly battle him in another world on a daily basis.

It wasn't until the dark spore deactivated and he had become lost in his grief, that Ken really saw Yolei for the first time. The digital world was the place where he rediscovered her. It was a slow process. For the longest time he was so absorbed in the guilt of his sin he couldn't accept the companionship of anyone. Davis broke through that shell with his cheerful persistence of friendship and Yolei followed soon after, echoing that same stubborn insistence.

Little things drew Ken to her. She wasn't afraid to be completely blunt and say exactly what was on her mind, no matter how much trouble it got her into. Somehow she stumbled over her words without thinking, yet could solve complex problems in the blink of an eye. There was something refreshing and endearing about her upbeat and charismatic attitude. But, most of all, she believed in him.

When Yolei smiled at him, her warm caramel eyes shining from beneath her glasses, he felt almost as if all the things that darkened his life were lifted away. At the same time, he felt completely undeserving of someone so immune to darkness. Whenever they seemed to grow close, he found himself pulling away.

Ken thought back to the party and his near confession of his feelings to her. It was the closest he had ever come to reciprocating her feelings. He had never been able to bring himself to burden Yolei with his love. When he felt elated in her presence, a nagging reminder filled the back of his mind. This innocent fighter for good, this bearer of Love and Sincerity shouldn't be cursed with someone still haunted by his sins. This girl, too pure of heart to take the life even of the most evil of creatures, shouldn't be paired with someone who stole the lives of innocents for his own amusement. He wished he was a better man for her.

Ken's eyes narrowed as he pushed a branch from his path. He couldn't be selfish enough to be with her, but he was determined to save her from this place. He could at least give her that.

As he broke through another bunch of foliage, he stumbled into an opening of gray. The destroyed, colorless vision of Primary Village stood before him like a nightmare.

Before Ken could take it all in, something rustled in the brush behind him. He darted around, his soda spilling to the forest floor. The treetops wrestled violently just meters away and he stepped backward in fear, realizing just how defenseless he was alone. His back hit a toppled building block as he stared into the depths of the jungle.

Two sunken eyes glowed down at him, resting in a distorted face that's features could only resemble something horrifically human.

* * *

Steam poured out of the shower as Yolei clambered around blindly, reaching for the towel she had left on the rack. She sighed happily as her fingers touched the soft, fluffy object and she began drying herself off. It felt so good to be clean after sitting in clothes that had been soaked in stagnant stinky water and sweat.

After drying her face, Yolei managed to find her glasses by the bathroom sink. She slipped them on and began towel drying her long lavender hair.

After stuffing their faces with casserole, Yolei and Davis had tossed a coin to see who got the bathroom first. They didn't want to try the master bathroom, worried that it would pull them into another black void since Davis didn't remember it. Davis had won the coin toss after calling tails… until Yolei noticed the trick coin had tails on both sides. An argument ensued when Yolei refused to try again using a real coin, insisting she got to shower first since he was a cheater. She won that one by sprinting to the bathroom and locking him out, smirking at him from behind the door. He had cursed before she heard him stomp away sulkily and she gleefully started her shower, determined to use the rest of the hot water to teach him a lesson.

Yolei wrapped the towel around her herself tightly and grabbed her dirty clothes from the floor before cracking open the door.

"Davis, I'm coming out! Don't look!" she shouted into the hall.

There was no answer.

She opened the door wide enough to stick her head through and looked up and down the empty hallway. Seeing that it was clear, she shuffled down the hall. The door of the guest bedroom was wide open and she paused, noticing a pair of feet dangling off the side of the bed.

"Davis?"

When she peered in, careful to hide the rest of her body in the hallway, she saw that Davis was sprawled on his stomach, fast asleep; his head was plopped in the middle of the bed without a pillow. He was snoring softly and Yolei could tell by the glistening in the corner of the mouth he was already drooling. His usually spiky hair was a messy uncontrollable poof on his head, filled with dirt and plant life, but his tan face looked completely peaceful and serene.

Yolei felt a soft smile curl up on the corner of her lips. It was times like these that she realized Davis reminded her of a rambunctious puppy; annoyingly persistent and mischievous, destroying things everywhere he went. But like a puppy, when he was calm and sleeping, he became sweet and innocent, making up for all the little things that made her want to pull out her hair before.

He shifted and Yolei quickly pulled herself away from the door, her heart beating violently inside her chest. She pulled her towel more tightly around herself and quickly darted down the hall to Mimi's room, closing the door behind her and leaning her back against it. She removed her glasses and wiped the fog from them on her towel, letting out a large puff of air that she had been holding in her lungs.

Yolei replaced her glasses on her face and stood there for a few moments trying to still her racing heart and calm the butterflies that were flying in her stomach. What had she been doing, staring at him while she was wearing nothing but a bath towel? Heat rose through her until her cheeks flushed and she had to pull her hair back to keep cool.

She tried to distract herself and search for something in Mimi's room to wear. The drawers were empty, of course, but there was a laundry basket on the floor. Yolei picked up a tiny pink thong, which only made her laugh in irony. Of course Davis would remember that. There was also a tiny white skirt and a light pink belly shirt, definitely items from Mimi's wardrobe. Beneath that were only odd cloths, devoid of purpose or color, just something to fill the basket to the point of the items from Davis's memory.

Yolei reluctantly began pulling on the available clothing, her face only burning hotter as she did so. Unable to bring herself to share a thong with her friend (even if this was only a memory), she went without. She glanced at herself in the vanity. She was a few inches taller than Mimi now, which only made the clothes that much more revealing. She couldn't help but think how awkward she looked with her large glasses and tall skinny body. She tugged on the short pink shirt (which clashed terribly with her hair), trying to cover more of her bare midriff unsuccessfully.

From the corner of her eye, she noticed the picture of Michael and Mimi sitting on the dresser. Mimi was stunning, her curves were hugged tightly with pink satin, a low scooped neck revealed supple cleavage, and her gorgeous honey brown hair bounced freely on her shoulders. Yolei had always admired Mimi's beauty, but as she turned back to the mirror she only felt envious of her friend. It was no wonder Michael had never made good on his promise of a date. She grabbed a brush from the vanity and began combing through her hair, glaring at her reflection.

There was suddenly a creaking noise from the hallway and the clear sound of shuffling feet before a door closed. Yolei put the brush back on the vanity as the sound of running water filled her ears. Davis was awake.

She scooped up her dirty clothes from the floor and went out into the hallway in search of the laundry room. She sighed, her mind filled with thoughts of inferiority, and her gaze fell to the floor.

"You used all the hot water."

Yolei jumped so violently that she dropped her clothing. She glared at the chuckling Davis, who was standing just in front of her.

"You scared the shit out of me!" she cursed.

"I sure hope not."

It was then that Yolei noticed he was clad with only a bath towel around his waist and she quickly averted her eyes and carefully bent over to pick her clothes from off the floor. Heat ran through her entire body and she tried not to remember what she was wearing… or what she wasn't. When she stood back up, Davis was holding his own dirty clothes out to her.

"Can you wash these too?"

She grabbed them from his hands violently, not daring to look him in the eye.

"What are you wearing?" he asked, the underlying music of laughter in his voice.

Yolei held the dirty clothes up to her midriff, attempting to hide herself. "The only stupid thing you remembered, you moron."

Silence was all that greeted her and Yolei allowed her eyes to finally meet Davis's face. For a brief moment, she thought she saw a flash of pain in his eyes. It was quickly covered by a cocky grin.

"What can I say? Mimi looked hot in that outfit."

The heat drained from Yolei's face and she felt the butterflies in her stomach sink until they were no longer flying. She looked down at the pile of dirty clothes in her arms.

"Enjoy your cold shower," she spat before moving past him. She stomped down the steps, but as she turned around a bend, she could see Davis watching her. His face was scrunched up in confusion and he shook his head, bewildered, before heading back into the bathroom.

Yolei continued her angry march to the washer and dryer, shoving the clothes in and luckily finding some laundry soap. After slamming the washing machine closed, Yolei felt her anger fade and tears stung the corner of her lids.

She bit her lip and scolded herself for being emotional. She was not going to cry anymore. Once she got a hold of herself, thoughts tore through her mind. She glanced up the stairs where Davis had stood and wondered why she felt so disappointed at his words.

* * *

After spending hours in the hot desert sands, the sight of the forest felt like a miracle. A tall Ferris wheel towered over the treetops.

"It looks as big as the one in Odaiba," Iori commented.

TK nodded. "It is. You can see for miles from up there."

"Perfect," Tai exclaimed. "Someone should definitely check it out. Maybe we can get an idea of where we are in this world."

"I'll go," Iori volunteered.

TK grabbed Kari's hand. "We'll go with you," he said, pulling her gently along. "I know a shortcut."

"Wait a minute," Tai started, but TK only gave him a wave as he led the youngest Yagami through the foliage ahead. Iori gave an apologetic bow before hurrying after them.

Tai grit his teeth. "He's asking for it…"

"Iori's with them, Tai," Matt grumbled. "Nothing's going to happen."

"I don't like them running off like that either," Joe spoke up, sliding his glasses onto the bridge of his nose. He looked at the blonde. "How much of this place do you remember?"

Matt's eyes narrowed and he looked at the foliage that TK had disappeared into. "We should be ok if we stay in the park."

"Great!" Mimi exclaimed, hooking her arm on Matt's. "Then I know just the place I want to go," she winked. Joe looked put out until Mimi hooked her other arm in his. "We three have some catching up to do."

Mimi started dragging the boys ahead of Tai and Sora, already chatting animatedly. The last thing Tai saw before they disappeared was Matt reaching into his pocket to pull out his last cigarette.

"Guess that leaves us." Tai's grin was only halfhearted. Sora had been so quiet since he had botched up and let it slip that he knew about her sexual history with Matt. Honestly, he hadn't realized she didn't know that he knew.

A forced smile appeared on her face. "Guess it does."

They began walking into the forest toward the amusement park and, at this moment, Tai was guiding them aimlessly. His mind wasn't focused on finding the best vantage point.

"Sora, I'm sorry about what I said before… at my place. I was just upset about Kari and TK."

A blush crawled across Sora's cheeks. "You know, Matt and I didn't sleep together until last summer."

That caught him off guard. "You didn't?"

"Matt waited until I was sure I was ready, so you don't need to worry about TK. He won't take advantage of Kari. He loves her."

"I'm not worried about that. I just don't want them having sex period," Tai stated, a frown forming on his face.

"Kari's going to grow up sometime, Tai."

"She's only fifteen! I don't need to worry about that for at least ten more years."

Sora shook her head, an amused smile turning up the corner of her mouth. Tai felt himself relax at the sight. "So, what happened with you two?" he asked.

Her smile faded. "You're going to think I'm stupid."

Tai raised an eyebrow before moving a branch from their path. "Now I'm really curious…"

Sora absently lifted her fingers to her mouth, chewing on the nail of her pinky. "You know how when you first have a crush on someone, you get really nervous? Like butterflies in your stomach?"

He nodded slowly, watching her eyes narrow in concentration.

"I still feel like that around Matt."

Tai had to use all his strength not to let the disappointment show on his face. "Oh… that's a bad thing?"

"I knew you'd think it's stupid…"

"No," Tai responded. "It's not stupid, Sora, just…different. Why's it bad?"

She removed her fingernail from her mouth. "We were together almost four years… I just thought things would feel normal by now. I mean, we were friends before, but things changed once we started dating. I just don't feel like I'm really myself around him."

"Did you tell Matt about this?"

Sora shook her head. "Not really. I just don't think he'd understand. He's tried so hard to do everything right. Honestly, he's the perfect boyfriend… but I just don't know if I want that anymore."

"Hmm," Tai murmured before allowing a goofy grin to settle on his face. "Man, if perfect isn't good enough for you, what guy stands a chance?"

They suddenly stepped into a clearing and the amusement park and all its glory stood before them. When Tai turned to Sora, he could tell she was anything but amused.

"I don't want someone perfect," she declared, her rubicund eyes intense as she searched his gaze.

Those eyes caused Tai to freeze and he found himself lost in her. What was strange is that, with Sora, he was usually perfectly comfortable. They had known each other for so long that he was always completely at ease with her. But, on occasion, a look from her still took his breath away. He could feel his heart thumping in his chest and he swallowed heavily. "What _do_ you want?"

Her face suddenly matched the color of her hair, her eyes glistened in the sunlight, and Tai found himself filled with the butterflies that Sora claimed she no longer wanted. Somehow he seemed to have magically moved closer to her, though he couldn't remember taking any steps forward.

Her soft lips parted slightly as she held his gaze. "I…"

"Hey down there!" TK's voice suddenly chimed from up above.

Tai's heart felt like it plummeted as he looked up to see TK and Kari waving down at them from a passenger car on the Ferris wheel. Iori was in the one just below them. They were probably close to twenty feet in the air.

The wave Tai shot back was more of an angry salute. "You keep a close eye on them Cody!" he shouted.

"Iori," Sora corrected, although her voice came out shaky.

"Sorry Iori!" Tai shouted again.

Iori waved politely while Kari looked humiliated. The cars slowly moved up until it was hard to see their passengers clearly. Tai looked at Sora again and saw she was avoiding his gaze.

"There's a coaster," Tai said, pointing further into the park. "Maybe we can get a different view from there."

"Sure," she agreed, forcing a smile.

Tai could feel the tension grow between them. They walked closely together and it took Tai an enormous amount of self control not to pull Sora into his arms and confess everything he had ever felt for her.

As the coaster towered before them Tai couldn't help but feel as if he had been riding it for the past four years.

* * *

"That was kind of mean, TK."

The blonde turned from the view to Kari and smiled warmly. "How so?"

Kari's normally sweet (and as of late, sad) eyes narrowed at him. "You interrupted them."

TK allowed himself to look partially ashamed. "You know Matt's still in love with her."

"I thought so, but what Sora chooses to do isn't really any of our business," Kari replied, looking sternly at him.

"You're right," TK sighed. He glanced down at Iori who was looking carefully over the landscape. "See anything interesting, Iori?"

"Not really," the younger boy returned.

TK leaned back in his seat and grabbed Kari's clenched hand into his own. A shy smile appeared on her face and TK felt like things were beginning to look right again in the world… well, at least in _his_ world. This strange place still had him on edge and, despite his reunion with Kari, he knew that things couldn't be fully resolved until everyone was all together again, including Davis.

Kari was looking out into the scenery again and a warm breeze played with her loose hair, blowing it into her face. She moved her free hand to push it away and TK was suddenly overcome with emotion. He was terrified for them to come into contact with Davis. What if there was some small part of her that really did want to be with him? He couldn't bear to lose her again.

TK instantly placed his other hand on her shoulder and pulled her close, kissing her shocked mouth with a desperate passion. As if on cue, the passenger car halted at the top of the wheel, swaying gently in the air. He pressed forward eagerly as she melted into his arms, holding her tightly against his body and allowing his tongue to hungrily search her mouth. When he finally parted for air, he pressed his forehead against hers.

Her light brown eyes searched him in concern. "TK?"

"I love you, Kari," he whispered desperately.

The sound of a clearing throat interrupted the moment and Kari flushed.

"You see something?" TK called down. The angle they were at didn't allow for them to see into the car below.

"No," Iori called back, a hint of amusement in his tone. "I was just keeping an eye on you two."

TK couldn't help but laugh at the boldness of his DNA partner. He was about to shout down a comment when he suddenly noticed movement to his left, far across the lake.

"Woah!" he exclaimed. "Did you guys see that?"

Kari looked in the direction he was staring. "See what?"

"The trees were moving!"

"It was probably just the wind," Iori replied.

"It was definitely not the wind," TK argued, standing in the car to get a better look. It rocked underneath him and Kari gripped onto his shirt.

"Careful," she said. "You aren't supposed to stand in these things."

TK hesitantly sat back down, staring into the distance. The treetops once again began to rock abruptly. "There!" he shouted, almost jumping up in his seat again.

"What is that?" Iori wondered, his voice nervous.

Kari's eyes were wide as she watched the movement. "We have to tell Tai."

TK nodded in agreement and the movement seemed to stop.

"Is it just me or is that side of the lake gray?" Iori asked.

TK squinted. "I don't think it's just you."

Kari's hands wrung together nervously. "Ok, how do we get this thing going again?"

"I think it'll start up again in a minute," Iori said.

They waited in suspense and the cars remained still, swinging on the top of the Ferris wheel.

"Tai!" Kari shouted.

There was no response.

TK glanced at her and they shouted Tai's name again together. There was still nothing.

"My D-Terminal still doesn't work," Iori responded. "We'll just have to wait to get down."

The Ferris wheel started moving before it suddenly stopped again, leaving Iori's car at the top while Kari and TK's car moved just below it.

"This might take awhile," TK sighed.

"We haven't seen anything else alive since we got pulled into this world," Iori said, "but something has to be causing those trees to move."

Kari grabbed TK's hand and looked at him, fear apparent in her eyes.

"It'll be ok," he murmured, but as he stared back to the space where the treetops had shaken, he had an eerie feelings things were going to get worse.


	20. As the World Turns

**Innocent Games**

**Chapter Twenty  
As the World Turns**

The world spun slowly around her and for a moment the effect knocked her thoughts off balance. Her eyes became absorbed in the colors and shapes that passed her by and her ears filled with the sound of music. It wasn't a catchy melody, just something provided to complete the ride, a muffled twinkling drone in the background. Everything seemed to come together in that moment and she realized that her life wasn't unlike this carousel, spinning aimlessly in a circle, doomed to repeat the same cycle until it finally came to a stop.

"Mimi?"

The sound of Joe's cautious voice caused her heart to jump in her chest and she turned to him, smiling. "Yes, Joe?"

He was sitting awkwardly on a pink pony beside her and his long legs reached the ground so that when the pony rocked up, his knees only straightened. "You ok? You look kind of sad."

Mimi could see the corner of Matt's mouth turn up in a smirk. He was seated in a stagnant booth which he had chosen due to the wolves painted on the sides.

"I'm fine," Mimi declared, honey coating her voice. "You worry too much."

"Mimi, you do realize this is Joe you're talking to, right?" Matt chimed in.

Joe didn't grace Matt's comment with a response. Instead his dark eyes remained focused on Mimi, his brows furrowing with concern.

She averted her eyes and smiled sweetly at the blonde. "Matt, let's talk about Sora."

Matt's smirk changed to a frown and he crossed his arms.

"Don't look at me like that," Mimi scolded. "You're going to tell me what happened since we were separated and why you and Sora still aren't speaking to each other!"

His icy eyes narrowed at her and his lips stretched thin as he held his tongue.

"You still love her, don't you?"

Matt turned away from her and looked out into the spinning world around them. "Of course I do," he muttered.

"I think she's still in love with you," Mimi declared and Matt turned back to her in surprise. Joe swallowed uncomfortably, but she ignored him as she watched the hope light up on the blonde's face. "She's just confused."

"That's what you said before. What the hell is she so confused about?" Matt asked. He had gained hold of his surprised expression and there was a hint of anger in his voice.

Mimi paused and glanced at Joe, whose eyes had never left her. He seemed to be telling her to drop the conversation, but she was determined to help Sora and Matt repair their relationship. She turned back to the blonde. "You make her nervous, Matt."

Blue eyes widened in shock. "What?"

"She's still gets butterflies around you and I think it scares her. Why that's a problem is beyond me. I think it's adorable that she's still so worked up over you."

Matt's mouth had fallen open slightly. "That's why she broke up with me?"

"It's more complicated than that," Mimi continued, brushing a stray hair from her face. "She feels like you're still trying to impress each other. She said it's like she isn't really herself around you."

Matt looked completely dumbfounded and seemed to be trying to articulate words that just wouldn't form on his tongue.

"Seeing you so depressed about this is killing her. You know how Sora gets..." she trailed off, once again looking at Joe who nodded in understanding. Both he and Matt had seen what could happen to Sora when she took responsibility for everyone else.

"What am I supposed to do?" The question was desperate and Mimi found it odd to hear Matt sound so childlike in seeking her advice.

"Get her back, silly." Mimi grinned when his eyes narrowed. "You have to be more like her best friend and less like her boyfriend. For some crazy reason that's what Sora wants."

Matt's teeth ground together and they watched him as he began to look more heartbroken than before. "I'm not Tai."

Mimi's grin was wiped clean from her face. "What?"

"Tai's her best friend, Mimi. He always has been."

Joe turned to look at her and Mimi suddenly realized why he had wanted her to stay silent. "But _you're _Tai's best friend," she said stupidly.

Matt chuckled sadly. "Yeah, and so is Sora. He deserves my crest more than I do."

"Don't say that, Matt," Joe demanded, pushing up his glasses. "You know that isn't true, you've proved your friendship to all of us."

"Not to Sora," he murmured in despair.

Mimi felt her cheeks puff up in frustration and she breathed it out in a large gust. "Oh no you don't, Yama. You are not giving up on her!"

"Mimi…" Joe urged, trying to calm her.

"Now stop pouting and start knocking that girl off her feet with your friendship!" she shouted.

Both boys just stared at her outburst in dismay.

The carousel's music suddenly stopped playing and the spinning ride came to a halt. Mimi felt as if the whole world had stopped at that moment and her heart was racing in her chest. Tears suddenly sprang to her eyes and she jumped up from her pony.

"I need to use the little girl's room," she blurted.

Before either boy could stop her, she took off. It had become clear to her that things she had kept hidden were about to surface and she selfishly didn't want the truth to come out. It was the same selfishness that had caused the mess in the first place.

But Mimi Tachikawa didn't want to be selfish anymore. She wanted to change. She wanted to be who Joe thought she was.

So she went looking for Sora.

* * *

Luckily, in the Tachikawa house, hot water came back in a hurry.

Davis grinned to himself, feeling triumphant as he wiped steam from the mirror. His own two brown eyes stared back at him and he noticed that the bruises from his fight with TK had started to fade to a purplish yellow. He ran his tongue over his lip, happy to find that it had healed.

He absently rubbed a towel into his wet hair as he bent down to dig through the pack he had found in the guest room. He uncovered a bottle of hair gel.

"Ah ha!" he proclaimed before setting it on the counter with glee.

Next he pulled out a t-shirt, a ragged old vest, a pair of underwear and shorts. It brought back a sense of nostalgia to see the old clothes he often wore leading his group on crazy escapades battling evil digimon. In a way, Davis really missed those days. He missed the adventure and, despite the constant danger, things seemed simpler then. He held the clothes up to himself and frowned.

"Damn," he muttered. "Hey Yolei, my clothes dry yet?"

It took a minute before he heard a response to his shout.

"They just finished in the wash! I'm not a miracle worker!" Yolei called back, her voice agitated.

"Just askin'," he grumbled before attempting to pull on the small briefs. Even with the stretchy waistband they got stuck around his upper thighs and he smirked. "Heh, I did grow."

Kicking them off, Davis wrapped his towel around his waist and proceeded to squirt a glob of hair gel in his hands, running it through the wet strands until they were adequately doused and spiked. Satisfied with the control over his hair, he pushed open the door and went out into the hallway, holding his towel firmly.

From over the banister, Davis could see Yolei on the first floor, shooting up from where she had been bent over, putting clothes in the dryer. She was pulling on the edge of her borrowed miniskirt, attempting to cover herself. Her face was bright red and for no reason at all, Davis felt his own cheeks burning.

"How long 'til they're done?" he asked, attempting to hide his embarrassment.

"Probably a half hour," she returned, sounding as if she was trying to catch her breath. She was avoiding his eyes and she pulled her long lilac hair back clumsily.

"That long, huh?"

She looked up to glare at him, but her cheeks instantly flared up again and she averted her eyes.

Davis pulled the towel more tightly around his waist. "I'm gonna go back to sleep then."

As he turned around to head back into the guest room, he heard Yolei call, "Davis…"

He leaned over the railing to look at her. "What's up?"

"I think that someone's using Izzy to create this place."

"Huh?"

"I've been thinking about how we've been able to go into the other's memories. Izzy had this program, it was a prototype really. It was supposed to collect data in order to create a world."

Davis looked dumbfounded. "A computer program can create a world? I thought this was an illusion or something, like someone was messing with our memories just to screw with us."

"I thought so too, but the more I think about what Izzy explained, the more I realize that all these times we reach a gap in our memory we're actually hitting a glitch in the program. It wasn't meant to create a world before it had gathered all the data."

Davis mulled over her explanation. "I don't get it. How can a program create a world?"

Yolei leaned against the humming dryer. "Do you remember that place Myotismon brought us to?"

"Yeah, that crazy wishes come true place." He grinned at the memory. "I totally saved all your asses."

Even though she wasn't looking at him, he could tell Yolei rolled her eyes. "The program is a manipulation of that world. It takes dreams, thoughts, and memories and turns them into reality…it's the same way the digiworld was created."

"So someone's using this program to use our memories to create their own world?"

"More or less… I gave you the dumbed down version."

"Thanks," Davis groaned sarcastically. "So… why the hell would anyone want to do that?"

"You know bad guys, they like ruling the world. Maybe whoever is doing this just wants his own world to take over." Yolei finally met his gaze. The redness had faded from her face. "Davis, I'm worried about something."

Her caramel eyes looked fearful behind her lenses and Davis suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to calm her before tears spilled from her lids.

She kept her composure, though. Calm and collected she spoke, "The program didn't have the ability to create life."

His thoughts instantly went to the carcass they had found. "Then how'd that thing get here?"

"It wasn't digimon or human … I think someone created it."

"You mean like Ken created Chimeramon?"

"Maybe," Yolei stared into the space in front of her. "What if it wasn't the only one?"

The idea worried him too, but Davis forced a grin. "Heh, if anything tries messing with us, I'll take care of it."

Yolei glanced up at him again. "Promise me you won't do anything stupid."

He waved her off, chuckling. "Me? Do something stupid? Ha!"

"Davis," Yolei's voice was firm. "Promise."

"Alright, alright," he grumbled. "I promise, ok?"

That seemed to satisfy her. She pushed herself away from the dryer and began heading up the steps toward him, holding her skirt down with one hand and hiding her midriff with the other. When she reached him, Davis's own hand tightened around his towel.

"What're you doin'?" he asked, swallowing.

"Taking a nap."

Blood instantly rushed to his face.

"In Mimi's room, moron."

"I knew that," Davis muttered before covering his embarrassment with a cocky grin. "You sure you don't wanna sleep with me?"

She went to smack him in the back of his head when he caught her wrist mid-air.

"You really gotta stop hittin' me, Miyako," he declared, smirking.

Her face puffed up with anger. "You're such a jackass."

"You love callin' me that, don't you?"

Yolei didn't respond, instead her angry face reddened as she attempted to pry her arm from his grip. Davis continued to hold on, enjoying watching her struggle.

"Let me go."

"Promise you won't hit me anymore," Davis demanded.

The anger seemed to dispel from Yolei's face and she took in a shaky breath. "No."

She suddenly seemed so nervous that it threw Davis off guard. He could feel her arm trembling in his hand and it almost made him let her go, but stubbornness won over. Instead he pulled her closer. "Promise."

Her eyes met his. "No," she repeated just as stubbornly, although her voice came out as a whisper.

They were only inches apart. Davis could smell the shampoo from her damp hair and feel her shaky breaths on his lips. He remembered the way it felt to have her pressed against him when they had fallen in the forest and his mind started racing with the same irrepressible thoughts.

Davis hoped to God that she didn't look down right now. He bit his lip and tried to shake the images from his head, but he didn't release her.

"I take my promise back then," he murmured.

Yolei's eyes widened behind her glasses. "Davis, please don't be reckless just to win an argument."

"Promise you won't hit me."

"No," she said again. "I'd end up breaking my promise."

"I might end up breaking mine."

"Don't."

Davis wasn't sure why, but both their voices were whispers now. "Why not?"

"You're all I have left." Yolei's bottom lip quivered. "I need you."

It felt as if the world suddenly stopped turning, and his heart caught in his throat. They stood there, inches apart in silence for what seemed like an eternity before Davis finally gained hold of his senses enough to release her arm.

"Ok," he said.

"Ok, what?" Her eyes searched his and he looked away.

"I won't do anything stupid." With that Davis turned around and quickly walked into the guestroom, closing the door behind him. He collapsed on the bed and ran a hand through his hair, letting out a loud sigh of frustration.

He heard a door down the hallway close shut and found that when he shut his eyes, he couldn't sleep at all.

* * *

She was screaming. For some reason the action was like a great release, easing the tension that had been building inside her. The rollercoaster hit a loop and she squealed again. This time she caught Tai laughing at her. His face lit up with an exuberant toothy smile before he let out a yell of his own as they went down yet another hill.

Almost as soon as it started the ride was over and the coaster came to a hissing stop where it had begun. Their restraints were lifted, but they both remained seated, laughing at their adventure. Sora was pretty sure they had both forgotten to look out for any signs of the others.

"That was great!" Tai exclaimed. "I haven't been on a rollercoaster for years!"

Sora examined him and began laughing hysterically. "Your hair!"

Tai reached up in an attempt to flatten the even more uncontrollable mop on his head. "Yours isn't any better," he shot back, a sloppy grin on his face.

"I beg to differ," Sora snorted, but she smoothed her hair out anyway. Her eyes drifted upwards, trying to check her ruffled bangs.

Tai's fingers were suddenly against her face. "There," he declared as he pushed stray hairs behind her ear. "That's better."

Her eyes met his warm gaze and the laughter was gone, replaced by a tingling sensation that shot through her with a type of desperate passion. Tai continued to smooth out her hair and a soft smile formed on his face.

She wasn't sure which one of them had done it, but her lips were suddenly against his as if they had always known how to kiss each other. His hand still lingered in her hair. When they pulled away, Sora's face was flushed and Tai's tan cheeks were tinged with pink.

"Sora," he murmured, meeting her eyes with a seriousness that Sora had only seen in battle. "I… I've always loved you."

Her heart pounded as all her suspicions were suddenly confirmed. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

Tai looked ashamed. "Because I'm a coward."

"Tai…"

"And because you chose Matt."

The elated feeling in Sora's chest disintegrated and everything became very real as she thought of the heartbroken blonde.

"I don't want to hurt him either, Sora," Tai continued, as if reading her thoughts.

Sora's hand came instinctively to her mouth and she chewed on her fingernails, staring into the space before her. "I don't know what to do..."

They both sat silently in the car for a moment, before Tai spoke up. "He's still in love with you."

A million thoughts and memories raced through her mind and she took a deep breath, trying to push them from her mind.

"I'm sorry," Tai apologized. "I shouldn't have kissed you."

When she met his gaze, she could tell he was conflicted. Her fingers fell from her mouth and his dark eyes searched her as if seeking out her soul.

"Don't apologize," Sora heard herself whisper.

This time there was no mistaking who kissed who. Tai pulled her to him, pressing his lips against her with reckless abandon. Her stomach was swimming with a mixture of euphoria and sickness. Kissing Tai felt natural, homey and sweet, but Sora couldn't help recalling the blonde she had spent her last four years with. The memory of piercing blue eyes somehow made kissing Tai also feel very wrong.

* * *

Iori breathed out a sigh of relief when he finally came to the bottom of the Ferris wheel. It had taken a good twenty minutes before TK and Kari's car had reached the platform. They were patiently waiting for him.

"I'm sorry." Iori bowed apologetically.

In a hurry to find Tai, TK had hopped out of the car before it hit the ground, but when both Kari and Iori refused to attempt the eight foot jump, he waited for them with a soft smile of understanding. Iori felt like a coward.

"Don't worry about it," TK replied, waving a hand at him good-humoredly. "I was just getting antsy. A couple of minutes won't make a difference."

"I heard the rollercoaster running," Kari said. "I think that's the direction Tai and Sora went."

"Let's go then," TK exclaimed, grabbing her hand. He began leading them through the amusement park at a slow jog. The way he moved made it clear he knew the place like the back of his hand.

Even though it seemed like a child's dream come true, Iori couldn't imagine what it must have felt like to be abandoned for weeks in this place, especially without his digimon. When TK had told Iori the story, he chuckled about the fight between him and Patamon that had happened when Matt had gone paddling across the lake. Iori could tell that despite his happy disposition, the memory still bothered his DNA partner. For some reason, this silent amusement park only seemed to speak doom to Iori.

It was well into the afternoon of the third day since they had been sucked into this unfinished world and although they had been reunited with the main group, they were still missing Ken, Davis, Yolei and, of course, Izzy. Now something very large was moving through the woods across the lake. It was possibly their best lead to find the missing computer genius, but if it was some sort of enemy…how were they going to fight it?

"Mimi?"

TK's surprised voice pulled Iori from his thoughts and he stopped behind the blonde and Kari. Mimi was standing just outside the entryway to the rollercoaster. Her long chestnut hair waved in the breeze and she pushed it from her face, forcing a smile.

"Oh, TK!" Her voice sounded sweet and choked, like it was coated in syrup. "Did you guys see anything?"

"Yeah, we did," the blonde replied. "Where's Matt and Joe?"

"They were on the carousel just a minute ago. I had to use the restroom."

"You're on the wrong side of the park," TK informed her, pointing to his right. "Bathrooms are that way."

"Woops!"

"Mimi, have you seen my brother?" Kari asked.

Mimi's eyes shot to the rollercoaster and, as if on cue, Tai and Sora appeared, walking down the path. Iori noticed that Mimi had suddenly stiffened.

Tai put up a hand in greeting, a sloppy smile on his face. "What's up guys?"

"Tai, there's something out there," TK blurted.

Tai's smile faded. "What are you talking about?"

"When we were on the Ferris wheel, we saw something shaking the trees," Kari explained.

TK nodded. "It was on the far side of the lake, probably a couple miles from here."

Tai glanced at Sora before turning back to them. "Are you sure it wasn't the wind?"

"I thought that at first, but it was too violent. Something was moving them," Iori confirmed.

Tai's eyes drifted to Mimi. "Where's Matt and Joe?"

"At the carousel."

"Was there any sign of the others?" Sora asked.

Mimi shook her head.

"Mimi!" Joe's voice rang out.

The bearer of Sincerity squeezed her eyes shut and then a new smile was forced on her face as Joe and Matt came running up to meet the group.

"Mimi," Joe huffed, catching his breath as they caught up to them. "Why'd you run off like that?"

"Oh, you know how it is, Joe. When nature calls!" she beamed. Iori could tell that Joe wasn't buying her act, but the eldest chosen only pushed up his glasses and bore his suspicions in silence.

Matt was drumming his fingers against the side of his leg. "Any news?"

"Something was moving the treetops," TK reiterated for his brother.

"Let's go after it," Tai said, his voice filled with excitement. "It's gotta have something to do with Izzy."

The typical words of caution from Matt were voiced and met with the exuberant charges of their leader. As the two argued, Iori's eyes glanced around the group. He could feel thick tension building in the air and he remembered what he, Joe, and Mimi had discussed in Yolei's apartment.

They were falling apart.

Iori's green eyes narrowed. Despite the fact that he was the least involved in the underlying drama unfolding in their group, he felt as if he was the only one who really noticed the damage it was causing. They were trapped in a spinning cycle of secrets and deceit. Iori worried that when things finally came to a halt, they would be even weaker than before.

It didn't matter if they went looking for trouble, it would find them soon enough. And this time they weren't ready to face it.

* * *

Cold water trickled down his face and he took a deep gasping breath as his heart raced wildly. The murky quivering image of his own face stared back at him horrified.

Ken fell back against the water's edge, dampening his pants and hands with mud as he attempted to catch his breath. Images of what he had just witnessed flashed through his mind and he tried to piece it all together.

The creature that had stood before him was unlike anything he had seen before. No digimon, natural or created, resembled it and there was certainly nothing on earth that came close. Except for its face. It was like a loose mask of human skin barely clinging to a skull much too large to be human. The color was sickly and it reminded Ken of death, like the way his brother's corpse began to change as they pulled the sheet over him in his hospital bed.

The nose was human, as well as the lips that pulled back unnaturally wide to reveal inhuman fangs and the sockets that drooped beneath coal black white-less eyes that seemed to burn as it watched him through the foliage. All Ken could do was freeze, awaiting the hideous monster's blow.

But no blow ever came. Long disjointed arms hung from sagging shoulders below what looked like knees, and the creature's spindly clawed fingers twitched as it stared. It stretched an elongated neck closer, down to his level, observing him. A snarl blew its hot breath against Ken's face and then the creature howled.

The sound was horrific, like many voices crying out in pain. Ken covered his ears and then the creature turned around, pushing its way back through the trees.

"What was that thing?" he choked.

As much as Ken searched his mind, there was no answer. Izzy's computer program could not account for the horror he had witnessed. It was incapable of creating life. It was either from another world or someone else had created it. Ken felt sick to his stomach, recalling his creation of Chimeramon and the similar behavior he had just witnessed, but this monstrosity was not simply a compilation of digimon's data. If this thing was created, there was something more to it. Its human-like face burned in Ken's mind like a brand on his brain.

When he finally looked up to shake the image from his head, an object in the lake caught his eye. Something was floating. Worst case scenarios went screaming through his thoughts and Ken darted to his feet, trying to get a better look. He scanned the shore and saw an overturned rowboat just beyond the brush. He pushed through the growth and sprinted to the boat, rolling it over with all his strength. It was filled with water, obviously having capsized recently. Ken's eyes darted back to the floating object and he squinted, trying desperately to make it out.

His heart calmed when he realized it was too small to be human, but he was still worried. There were marks in the dried mud that seemed to indicate some sort of struggle and Ken was trying not to allow his mind to wander with dark possibilities. He had to have faith his friends were ok. With shaky hands, he pushed the boat to its side and began scooping out what water he could. Once it was mostly emptied and he saw that the oars were still attached, Ken righted the boat and hopped in, throwing his bag of supplies in the bottom.

It took him about twenty minutes to reach the floating object. As he pulled it out of the water, it felt as if everything that was spinning out of control around him stopped.

Water dripped into the boat from Yolei's soggy slipper. Ken stared at it in dismay before his hand clenched tightly around it.

"Yolei!" His desperate cry traveled over the large body of water and brought nothing back but a breeze.

"Damn it," Ken cursed, running fingers through his hair. The boat rocked gently in the water as he lowered his head in his hands. All around him was still.

The sound of cracking wood and rustling leaves pulled Ken from his despair and drew his attention to the distant shore. The creature was moving again. Ken watched as it drew further from the lake until he could no longer see evidence of its presence. Then, with a deep breath of resolve, he began paddling after it.

* * *

Their walk through the city was quiet.

Yolei shivered despite the warm sun. There was something horribly eerie about a silent city, especially one as predominant as New York. It reminded her of a post apocalyptic film and she half expected zombies to jump out of the alleys at any moment. She noticed Davis's hands twitch around his makeshift spears and assumed the same type of thoughts were running through his head.

His dark eyes shifted to meet hers and she quickly fixated her gaze on the road ahead, her cheeks burning.

Things had become very awkward since the strange incident that had unfolded in Mimi's house. Yolei's heart beat faster at the memory and she felt heat crawl through her, forcing her to pull back her hair for relief. Maybe she was mistaken, but she was sure Davis had almost kissed her.

It was strange, thinking this way about the younger immature boy that she usually found herself at heads with. Her relationship with Davis had always been strange, though. She had known him long before they were chosen to save the digital world. Even when they were little, they fought.

Their sisters were best friends which caused the two of them to be dragged into reluctant companionship. They were forced to spend time with one another when they were left in the care of their older siblings. Davis would try to convince her to play soccer and Yolei would try to convince him to play with her computer. When one of them refused, their nearly identical hard-headed personalities would land them in heated arguments. Usually one would hit the other and their sisters would have to separate them when the tears started.

As they grew older, Davis learned he shouldn't hit a girl, but he'd constantly push Yolei's buttons until she smacked him. Then with enthusiastic delight, he'd tattle on her and she'd be grounded. But despite their constant bickering, they also enjoyed each other's company. They got along best when playing video games or during trips to the arcade and occasionally they would bond while playing pranks on their older sisters, most of them directed at Jun.

When Davis met Kari, however, Yolei saw a different side of the annoying brat she was forced to befriend. Something about her sweet disposition softened Davis. Even at a young age, he'd become flustered as he attempted small romantic advances, like picking dandelions and presenting them to the youngest Yagami like a small bouquet. He never argued with the petite, sometimes sickly girl like he did with Yolei. In fact, he'd do anything for her, even if he desperately wanted to do something else.

That was why, when TK came into the scene, Yolei found herself attempting to protect him. It was obvious that Kari held affection for the blonde and Davis would often come to Yolei, grumbling in outrage, but she could see pain of rejection through his anger. Yolei took it upon herself to distract him from their relationship the best she could.

When Ken had called her with the news of Davis's incident with Kari, Yolei knew things would be bad, but she wasn't prepared for the heartbreak that was strewn across her friend's face. Nothing seemed to be able to cheer him up.

She stole another glance at Davis and could tell he wasn't really paying attention to where they were headed. His eyebrows were furrowed together in thought and he kept fidgeting with the spears resting on the back of his shoulders. Yolei turned back to the city and sighed.

She had meant what she said. She did need him. His courage and strength was all she could depend on these last few days and the thought of being alone was too much for her to bear. The look in his eyes when she had expressed this was something she had never seen directed at her before.

"What the hell is that?"

Yolei was pulled from her thoughts and she directed her attention to the city before her. Dark clouds hovered ominously just ahead, sitting deathly still in the sky. Rain poured onto the streets below it.

"I don't remember it raining when we were here," she said, her voice quavering.

They exchanged worried glances and continued toward the storm. As they drew closer Yolei noticed that signs were written in kanji and the buildings looked awfully familiar.

"Huh, I didn't think there was a Japantown here."

"Davis," she breathed. "This is Tamachi!"

"I thought we were in New York."

"The program is piecing our memories together to create a new world; things aren't going to be the same here as they are back home."

"I still don't get it."

"It doesn't matter! If we're in Tamachi this might be Ken's memory. He could still be here!"

For a moment, she thought she noticed a frown form on Davis's face, but it was quickly replaced with a smirk.

"You miss your boyfriend?"

The comment was like a stab to her heart, but Yolei couldn't deny the excitement she felt at the possibility of being reunited with Ken.

"He's not my boyfriend, and yes, I do miss him."

Davis let out a short mocking snort. "Well, if this is Tamachi, his apartment should be that way," he claimed, pointing to his left.

Without another word, he started leading them in that direction. Yolei shifted the bag on her shoulder and followed behind him, her gaze focused on her feet that were adorned with Davis's too large flip-flops.

"Yolei…"

She looked up and saw him glancing at her over his shoulder.

"You mad at me?"

The worry in his eyes caused her to soften and she felt a smile tug on the corner of her mouth.

"No…"

Davis grinned and shrugged his shoulders to adjust the spears. "Good."

When he turned around, Yolei smiled to herself, happy to be on good terms with him again.

They broke into the rain and she lifted her hand to shield her glasses, barely able to see as the wind hammered raindrops against them.

"Stay close," Davis called to her and she didn't hesitate to move by his side as they pushed their way through the storm.

Fifteen minutes passed and Yolei's teeth were chattering from the cold.

"Hey, I see something!"

She followed Davis blindly and they came beneath the shelter of a roof's overhang. A door was swinging open in the wind.

"Where are we?" she asked, pulling her glasses off in attempt to wipe the droplets from them. They were only smeared with wet.

"The library. Ken's place is probably another twenty minute walk from here."

She groaned. "I'm so cold."

"Let's rest inside for a sec."

When the blackness overtook them, Yolei suddenly understood why it was raining in Tamachi. This wasn't Ken's memory at all. They were back in Davis's.

* * *

His eyes shot open in the dark, desperately seeking the light, but, as it had been for days (maybe months or years… time didn't seem to exist in this place), there was only blackness. His head was pounding and he felt exhausted, despite the fact that he had been sleeping, because in his dreams he was only awake elsewhere.

Izzy groaned as the sound of claws clicking came toward him. "It's going to kill my friends," he choked out.

"Not if you control it," Animamon replied, fascination thick in his voice.

Izzy shook his head in the darkness. "I can't. My consciousness barely exists in that thing."

"But you did control it, Izumi."

Like reliving a nightmare, the vision was foggy and didn't make sense. Izzy could see a familiar figure. At the time he was sure it was Ken, but now he wasn't positive the memory was correct. The exact occurrence was distorted.

"It's sick," Izzy declared, desperate for something to shake his captor. He could hear Animamon move closer.

"What?"

"It's going to die…eventually," Izzy continued, breathing heavily. "The body doesn't have the capacity to contain that many souls."

Animamon remained silent.

"It's desperate. It's going to do everything it can to destroy your world. And the others…" his voice cracked. "They're going to die if I can't control it."

A maniacal laughter was released into the air and suddenly the stench of Animamon's breath was in Izzy's face. "Why do you think I chose you, Izumi?"

Izzy held his breath, turning his face away, but clawed fingers dug into his chin, forcing him to face forward. He could feel his own blood slowly drop from the fresh wounds and his eyes squeezed shut from the pain.

"You're here because of your program, but you were chosen for this because you are the bearer of Knowledge." Animamon's voice was a musical growl. "You _will_ find a way to control it."

The claws released Izzy and he tore his face away from the hot laughter that poured over him.

"If you don't, you may be right." Animamon drew away and Izzy could hear him walk to the exit. "Your friends will die."

A door opened and shut in the darkness. The strange steady breaths surrounding Izzy were too calm for the anguish that crawled in his chest.


	21. Confessions and Confrontations

**Innocent Games**

[Author's note: Longest chapter yet as the drama builds. Once again, thanks for your continued support, I love hearing from the readers!]

**Chapter Twenty One  
Confessions and Confrontations**

His fingers were drumming against his thigh like a nervous twitch. A tension headache was begging to form in his forehead and he rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to relieve the pressure.

"You ok?"

Matt removed his fingers to see Joe peering at him through his glasses.

"Headache," he responded flatly.

"Withdrawal symptoms. I haven't seen you smoking since this morning."

Matt glared at the doctor in training as they followed Tai through the forest. "Thank you for reminding me, Joe."

Joe began digging through his bag and pulled out a piece of chewing gum. "Here, it'll help some," he said, forcing it in Matt's hand.

"Thanks," the blonde repeated, this time sincere. He popped the gum into his mouth, discarding the rapper in his jeans pocket.

"It'll probably help to get something to eat," Joe continued. "I think we're pretty close to the restaurant now."

"Just about there," Tai called back boisterously. He seemed thrilled with the new clue that had sprung up. He kept chatting to Iori, TK, and Kari, trying to find out as much detail about what they had seen as possible. After they explained the same occurrence about six times Matt's headache had started.

He must've groaned out loud, because Sora's head snapped back from where she was walking with Mimi. Her auburn eyes were completely unreadable and Matt tried to communicate with her through their locked gaze. After all their time together, how could she have hidden her fears from him? What Mimi had revealed to him in the park was the last thing he expected to be the cause of their break up.

Sora tore her eyes away from him and glanced nervously at Tai. The corner of Tai's mouth lifted in a lopsided smile when he caught her stare and Matt found himself wanting to slug that smile right off Tai's face.

That had to be the withdrawal talking.

Thankfully, a building was beginning to become visible through the trees and Matt hoped that Joe was right about food helping his symptoms. At this point anything to distract him from the thoughts that raced through his head would be like an answered prayer.

"Sora," Mimi's voice stabbed the name into his brain. "I need a potty break! Want to come with?"

"Uh… sure, Mimi."

As soon as Sora responded, the pink-clad girl began dragging her to the head of the group, quickly passing by Tai and the younger chosen.

"Hey, don't go running off like that!" Tai yelled as Mimi almost barreled him over.

"Don't you order me around Taichi Yagami!" Mimi called back. She yanked down an eyelid and blew a raspberry before continuing to pull away the reluctant redhead.

The two disappeared into the restaurant.

"What the hell is going on with your girlfriend?" Matt directed at Joe.

Joe's entire face lit up, resembling a tomato. "Girlfriend?"

Tai beamed a smile back at him. "Aw, come on, Joe. We all know you and Mimi are an item now. No use denying it! Right, Cody?"

"Iori," the youngest chosen child corrected and Tai apologized half-heartedly. "And you're right, there's no use denying it, Joe."

Joe put a hand to his face. "And I thought we were being discreet."

"Any clue why she's acting so weird?" TK asked.

Joe shrugged. "I have no idea. She won't talk to me about it."

"Honeymoon's already over, huh?" Tai joked.

Joe's face lit up even more and a few rounds of good-natured teasing ensued.

Only Matt noticed the nervous glance Tai shot at the restaurant. For the first time in a long time, he realized his best friend was hiding something from him.

* * *

Sora watched as Mimi looked out the door, making sure they hadn't been followed. When she was satisfied, she locked them into the single bathroom together.

"Uh, Mimi, I can wait outside for you…"

"Sora, we need to talk."

Sora swallowed heavily, having an idea where this was going. "Mimi, please don't tell Matt-"

"I slept with Tai."

The air suddenly felt like it had been sucked out of Sora's lungs. Silence hung between the two girls and Mimi nervously wrung a piece of hair around her finger.

"What?" Sora finally blurted, hoping she had heard her wrong.

"I slept with Tai. It was stupid, it was a big stupid mistake and it didn't mean anything."

Sora's world came crashing down around her. Her mouth felt dry and she was sure it was hanging open.

"What?"

"We had sex, Sora," she choked, her eyes suddenly welling up with tears. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know you felt that way about him. I mean, you were dating Matt and we'd been drinking…" A small sob emitted from the younger girl. "I was so lonely."

"When?"

"Last year… when I came to visit during spring break."

The memory came rushing back to Sora and she put her hand to her mouth in shock.

"Michael had just broken up with me and Joe… he was busy studying for college entrance exams. He didn't even call me back to tell me he couldn't make it."

"You had sex with Tai?" Sora choked out, still in disbelief.

"Yes!" Mimi cried, her voice coming out as a hushed scream. "He was a wreck when you and Matt left that night. We were both miserable and drunk."

"But, you guys were having such a good time…" Sora stuttered.

Mimi shook her head.

Voices suddenly filled the restaurant and both girls tried to regain their composure. "I just thought you should know," Mimi whispered shakily. "I'm so sorry … please don't hate me."

Sora batted away a stray tear. Then, with a compassion she didn't know she was capable of, she pulled Mimi into a fierce hug. "Oh, Mimi, I don't hate you. It's ok."

A muffled sob escaped from Mimi's throat and they held onto to each other as the others rummaged through the restaurant's supplies.

Mimi slowly calmed and pulled away, wiping her tears on the back of her hand. "Matt loves you, Sora," she whispered.

The redhead stiffened. Her breath caught in her throat and she felt her eyes narrow at her friend. "I'm glad you told me about Tai, Mimi. But please don't play matchmaker with me, ok?"

Mimi nodded sadly. "Ok."

A gentle knock made them both jump.

"It's Kari… are you two ok?"

Sora unlocked the door and allowed the youngest Yagami to enter the bathroom. Mimi was still wiping tears from her eyes and Kari looked between the two of them. "What happened?"

"Your brother," Sora murmured as Mimi's face turned bright red.

"Oh." Kari shut the door behind her. "When he does something bad, I'd rather you just call him Tai."

Both distraught girls choked out a laugh.

* * *

Tai's foot was tapping on the ground impatiently. "They've been in there for twenty minutes. What the hell are they doing?"

TK shrugged, looking unconcerned. "Girl stuff."

"Together?"

"I don't get it either," Iori interjected.

Matt and Joe appeared from the kitchen, arms loaded with food.

"Who's hungry?" Joe asked, setting his load on the table. Matt followed suit.

Tai immediately grabbed an apple and bit into it ferociously, his eyes focused on the closed bathroom door down the hall.

Joe followed his gaze. "They still haven't come out, huh?"

"This is getting ridiculous," Tai exclaimed through a mouthful, spraying bits of chewed apple from his lips.

TK wiped a piece of the fruit from his cheek in disgust and Tai's apology only ended up covering the blonde with more half-chewed food.

"Relax, Tai," demanded Matt's cool voice as he sat beside his brother.

The all too familiar look of isolation was beginning to form in Matt's eyes. Tai felt a sudden wave of guilt wash over him and he quickly turned to his apple, taking another angry bite of the innocent fruit.

As time passed, the boys focused on the closed door down the hall. Matt's fingers began drumming incessantly on the tabletop. They could hear soft female murmurs, but the words were indistinguishable from one another.

"We shouldn't be spying," Iori spoke up and all gazes turned away from the door in response.

"Hey, can you all hurry up in there?" Tai yelled impatiently. "We're going to lose this thing if you take any longer. Izzy's life could be at stake here!"

It only took a second for the door to open.

"Sorry Tai," Kari apologized, stepping out first. Mimi and Sora soon followed.

Rubicund eyes met brown and Tai could feel anger radiating from the girl he was so hopelessly in love with. He looked to Mimi and she refused to meet his gaze.

TK stood up from his seat and offered it to Kari as the girls joined them at the table. As she sat down, she smiled tenderly at him. With all the crap that had happened between his sister and TK, Tai never thought he'd be jealous of their relationship, but he was experiencing just a bit of envy as Sora's gaze bore into him ferociously.

Matt seemed to pick up on the strange tension and his fingers drummed more intensely on the table.

Joe's swallow could be heard by the entire group. "So… we should probably eat something and then pack up what food we can for the trip. You never know when we'll run into a restaurant again."

"Good idea, Joe," Kari said sweetly, grabbing a carrot from the pile of food. She crunched on it loudly and TK chuckled.

Mimi didn't touch the food, but Sora grabbed an apple, biting into it just as violently as Tai had. She met his gaze as she chewed, staring him down with fire in her eyes.

It was the most awkward meal eaten in the history of all meals. The raw fruits and vegetables made loud noises in the otherwise silent group. The only other sound was Matt's persistent tapping. Anyone watching would have thought it comical, but TK was the only one amused; the sides of his mouth curled up as he tried to withhold his laughter.

Tai decided that he would keep an extra diligent eye on the blonde and his sister. If he so much as caught a smooch between them, he was going to break TK's nose.

Matt was the first to stand up. He slowly packed a bag with extra food and threw it onto his shoulder. His fingers stretched into his pocket and came out empty handed. Matt's eyes narrowed and Tai realized he'd been reaching for the cigarettes he'd run out of. Despite the lack of smokes, Matt continued outside alone.

Everyone immediately followed suit, desperate to dispel the awkwardness that had formed. Bags were packed and the chosen children began filtering out of the restaurant. Tai shrugged his own bag over his shoulder and began following his sister when he heard Sora's voice.

"Tai, can I talk to you for a second?"

He felt his stomach flip flop. "Sure…"

Joe was the only one left and he shot a look between the pair before mouthing "good luck" to Tai.

When the door closed behind him, Tai was sure Sora's eyes actually did light on fire.

"You slept with Mimi?"

Tai turned scarlet. "S-Sora…"

"Don't Sora me!" she demanded between clenched teeth. "How could you do that?"

"It just happened, Sora… It was a mistake."

"You don't even like Mimi!"

Tai had the decency to look offended. "I like Mimi…"

"You know what I mean, Tai."

Tai covered his face with his hands and then ran them through his hair, letting out a loud groan. "You slept with Matt," he argued.

Sora's face turned red with anger. "That's completely different. I love him!"

The room became horribly silent and Tai felt as if his heart was wrenched from his chest.

Sora shook her head as if trying to dispel the words she had uttered. "How could you do that to Joe?"

"I was drunk…"

"That's no excuse."

Tai's eyes fell to the floor in shame. "You're right."

There was silence for a moment before he looked up again. Sora's eyebrows were knitted together in attempt to hold back tears. Tai boldly took a step forward and grabbed her face in his hands.

"Sora, please forgive me," he whispered. "I'd take it all back in a second if I could. You're the only one I've ever wanted."

She pulled away from his grasp, taking in a deep shaky breath. "Tai, I can't do this right now."

Tai ground his teeth together. "Because you love Matt?"

"Because I don't know what I want!" she cried. "You're confusing me."

"Tai!" Matt's voice called from outside the restaurant. "We're all waiting on you!"

Tai and Sora winced in unison.

"We better go," Sora murmured.

Tai nodded weakly before following her out of the restaurant.

Matt's steel eyes were watching him carefully when he emerged and Tai knew they'd be talking sooner rather than later. The blonde was fidgeting again, the nicotine withdrawal clearly rearing its ugly head.

Tai searched for Mimi and found her by Joe. She was looking everywhere but at him. Their mistake was one he had hoped to put behind him forever.

"Let's get moving," he declared, his voice almost a growl.

As he led the group into the forest, Tai decided he'd be talking to Mimi sooner rather than later as well.

* * *

Foliage whipped against his face as Ken darted through the brush, leaving the rowboat on the shore. It had taken him too long to reach the place he had last seen evidence of the horrific creature. He was worried he had lost it.

He realized that if he was sane, he would be more worried that he'd find it.

"I'm losing it," he said to himself.

Talking to himself only proved that he was, indeed, losing it.

What would he do when he came across the enormous monster? Without a digimon, he was useless to fight this thing. Ken always found it strange that the chosen children were commended as heroes when it was the digimon who really fought to save the world. Sure, Wormmon shared his power, but what good was Ken really? Wormmon might be more powerful with him, but Ken was absolutely worthless without Wormmon.

The digimon were the real heroes.

The only thing Ken ever did without Wormmon's help was enslave innocents. Ken almost chuckled in irony… even _that _was actually another digimon's idea.

Ken pushed the thoughts of inferiority and hopelessness from his mind, concentrating his entire effort on sprinting. Although he now lacked the perfection in sports he had acquired from the dark spore, Ken was still in excellent shape. He didn't stop running until he reached a clearing.

The strange digital forest had abruptly changed into a well manicured lawn. The trees that balanced on roots above the ground were replaced by normal maples, oaks, and elms. Concrete and stone paths lined with benches and street lights winded their way through the contained plant life. Ken found his eyes traveling up. Sky scrapers towered in the distance.

The familiar landscape was something Ken had never experienced firsthand, but he had watched enough American movies to recognize where he was.

Central Park, New York City.

Ken had never made it to America. He had stayed in Mexico with Matt while Davis journeyed to meet up with Mimi there. In fact, Ken believed he was probably the only chosen child who hadn't journeyed to the large nation on the other side of the world.

This could be anyone's memory, but Ken had a hunch it belonged to Davis or Yolei. He no longer worried about the monster he had followed there. He began journeying through the unknown city with a newfound hope, completely unaware as jet black eyes watched from the dense foliage of the digital trees, wrestling with the cries of anguish in its head and the great desire for destruction.

* * *

_It was dark, uncomfortable, and something smelled funny. There were no facilities and Yolei hated to think of what people and digimon had to do when they needed to use the bathroom._

"_Ugh!" she cried out in frustration, squirming angrily in the ropes that bound her. "Let us out! Let us out! LET! US! OUT!"_

_Davis shot her an annoyed scowl. "Maybe you should try your head; I bet it's harder than Veemon's."_

"_No way," Veemon protested, looking offended at the idea._

"_How 'bout I try _your_ head!" Yolei yelled, making a grab for Davis with the small part of her arms that peeked beneath her restraints._

_Veemon and Hawkmon moved between them before any damage was done._

"_Stop fighting," Iori demanded, sitting calmly on the floor next to his partner, Biyomon, and Sora. "This is bad enough without having to listen to your bickering."_

_Yolei and Davis both sat down on the hard cell floor in obedience, their backs turned to each other._

"_He started it," Yolei grumbled._

"_It doesn't matter who started it," Sora scolded, her hand rubbing her injured partner gently. "We need to come up with a plan to get out of here before Starmon comes back with his noose."_

_Yolei gulped, clearly remembering the word execution coming from the spire controlled digimon. Her thoughts drifted to Ken and she glanced at the poster of the Kaiser that was hanging with pride outside the cell. _

"_How can someone so cute be so evil?"she sighed dramatically._

"_Oh boy, not this again." _

_She looked over her shoulder to glare at Davis, but he didn't face her. _

"_I don't get it either, Yolei," Sora murmured. "How could anyone do this to Biyomon? It's cruel."_

"_He certainly is cruel," Hawkmon agreed, ruffling his feathers. "Someone needs to teach that hooligan some manners."_

"_I'll show 'im some manners as soon as I get outta here… with my fist," Davis proclaimed cockily._

"_No offense, Davis, but I've seen yer manners, and they ain't the best example," Armadillomon cracked._

_Yolei saw Davis glower at the yellow digimon and a satisfied smirk crossed her face._

"_Armadillomon, you aren't one to talk,"Iori reproached._

_There was a small protest from the yellow digimon before the group fell into a tense silence. Yolei found her gaze drifting to the poster on the wall again. _

"_He seemed so polite at the soccer game."_

"_What an act!" Davis growled. "He knew who we were the whole time. He was just playing with us."_

"_You couldn't stop talking about him."_

_Davis turned red. "I wasn't half as bad as you were." _

_The goggled boy suddenly became starry-eyed and his voice raised a couple octaves in his best imitation of Yolei. "Omigod, he's looking over here, did you see that? Ken Ichijouji actually looked at me! I love you, Ken! Marry me!" _

_Yolei spun around on her backside and planted her boot in Davis's shin._

"_Ow! Shit Yolei, that hurt!"_

"_Enough, you two!" Sora scolded again. _

"_I say he deserved that one," Hawkmon muttered as Davis grimaced._

_Yolei ignored Davis's grumbling and hardly paid attention as Iori began thinking up a plan of escape. Her eyes drifted to the poster again and she felt the familiar pang of disappointment. Why hadn't she ever noticed the cruelty in the boy-genius before? Was she really such a bad judge of character? Did she really only like him because he was cute and famous? _

_The dominant grin on the Kaiser's face seemed to smile knowingly at her. _

_Yolei sighed, ashamed. Yes, she was that shallow. But then again, she had to wonder… what could have caused a twelve year old boy to become so heartless in the first place? _

"You've got to be kidding me."

Yolei found herself standing in the same dark prison cell. Ken's poster stared at her haughtily. Davis was staring at her in disbelief.

"This is what you remembered?"

Yolei crossed her arms. "I didn't have much of a choice."

"Yeah, but… seriously?"

"At least its dry here," she defended, trying to rub the chill from her damp arms.

Davis dropped his spears on the concrete floor and attempted to open the barred door. When he found it to be locked he started shaking it excessively, letting out a string of loud angry curses.

"Why didn't you remember it _after_ Digmon busted a way out? We're trapped like rats in here!"

"It's not my fault, Davis. Let's just calm down and see if we can find another way out."

In response, the younger boy plopped on the ground cross-legged, pressing his hands firmly on his knees and closing his eyes. "We're fucked."

"Wow, you gave up easy."

He popped open an eye, narrowing it at her. "What are we s'posed to do without our digimon? Dig our way out with a spoon? We don't even have a spoon!"

Yolei glanced around the cell and saw the rope that had been used to bind them. "Maybe we can use this," she said, picking it up.

"Yeah, I'll lasso Armadillomon a lunch and he'll break us out of here as Digmon. Except… he's not here!"

"You lassoed a lunch?"

Both of Davis's eyes opened now and a smug expression suddenly replaced his irritated one. "Sure did."

"Well then maybe you can lasso the keys that are hanging on that wall over there." Yolei pointed to the large ring of keys hanging above the desk.

Davis jumped to his feet and grabbed the cell bars to get a better look, grinning wildly. "You're a genius."

Yolei blushed as Davis took the rope from her and fastened it into a lasso as if he had been roping cattle his entire life. He bit his lip in concentration and with a couple mock swings of his arm, released the lasso through the metal bars. The rope hit the keys loose and they fell to the top of the desk.

Davis frowned.

Yolei stood next to him waiting as he made a second attempt, then a third, a fourth, a fifth… she finally sat down, watching Davis stick out his tongue in concentration, guiding his hand with a skill she still wasn't sure how he possessed.

"Oh, I think it moved an inch that time," she encouraged.

The look Davis gave her made Yolei decide to keep her mouth shut.

"Damn it. Shit. Piece of goddman… Sonuvabitch! Fuck you, keys!"

Yolei rubbed her forehead. "Davis, do you really have to curse so much?

"Fuck yeah!"

It took another twenty tries and about three times as many curses before the keys were finally in reaching distance. Davis got down on the ground and stretched his arm as far as he could, just barely managing to snag the ring of keys with the tips of his fingers.

"AH HA!" he shouted, jumping to his feet in triumph. He held the keys in the air as if they were a trophy. "I'm the freakin' man!"

Yolei stood and in her joy she almost hugged him. She stopped herself and instead grinned broadly. "Let's get out of here!"

Davis wrapped his arm through the bars and after trying a few different keys, the jail door swung open, freeing them. Yolei waited as Davis gathered his bunch of spears onto his shoulders. When he stood, he seemed to notice the poster of the Digimon Kaiser for the first time.

He stared at it for a moment before chuckling in amusement. "Heh… think we should take this to Ken as a souvenir?"

"Don't be a jackass, Davis. You know that'd upset him."

"I dunno. I think it'd be pretty funny."

"Ken wouldn't think so."

"He needs to lighten up."

"You need to be more sensitive."

"Aw Miyako, am I really not sweet enough for you?"

She smacked him upside the head.

"Damn it! I thought you promised not to hit me anymore!"

"I never promised you anything."

Davis glared at her until his tan cheeks turned pink and Yolei felt her own face warm. Davis looked away, shifting the spears on his back.

"C'mon," he mumbled. "Let's see what other crap you remembered."

Yolei didn't bother to defend her memory. Instead she followed Davis out of the jailhouse and into the Wild West town in silence. The hot dry sun beat down on them, already making them feel warm in their damp clothes.

Davis's sour expression melted and Yolei followed his gaze to the saloon.

"Davis…"

"Hey, we should stock up while we got the chance, right?"

"We still have a bunch of food from Mimi's house."

"A little more food never hurt nobody. Nor did a little drink."

Yolei cast an eye of judgment at him. "You seem to forget you spent your first day in this world puking your guts out because of a 'little drink'."

Davis frowned. "I just want to grab a little celebratory something for when we find everyone again. After we kick the ass of whoever brought us here."

"Plus," he continued, looking as if he had come up with something brilliant, "we might need it for antiseptic purposes."

Yolei rolled her eyes, knowing that liquor's medical attributes were the last thing on his mind. "I can't believe you're thinking about alcohol right now."

"I can't believe you're not. How often do we get access to a full bar unsupervised?" he smiled mischievously. "No more welcome milk for us."

"I'm not going to talk you out of this, am I?"

"Nope."

Yolei sighed.

"Hey, you owe me for lassoing us out of your memory's jail cell."

"Fine, Davis. Let's just hurry up, ok? This isn't a game."

Davis grinned like a kid in a candy store. "Sweet."

As Yolei followed him into the saloon, she had a very strong feeling that she was going to regret this.

* * *

"My feet hurt. Can we rest for a little while?" Mimi whined, plopping down on a log and taking off her pumps.

Tai instantly halted and turned around slowly. The smile on his face couldn't be described as anything but creepy. "Why of course we can, Mimi."

Mimi stiffened. "Oh, actually, it's not really that bad. I can keep going."

Joe sat next to her, examining her blistered feet. "We really should've gotten you some hiking boots. You should probably take it easy for awhile."

Mimi placed her hands on her hips, sticking her chest out as if she was a superhero. "What are you talking about, Joe? I'm a tough cookie! Let's keep hiking!"

"No way!" Tai exclaimed, waving his hand in dismissal. Sora was glaring at him, but he purposefully avoided her gaze. "If Dr. Joe thinks you should rest, you should definitely rest."

"I'm not a doctor yet, Tai," Joe muttered, a blush forming on his face.

Matt absently reached into his pocket for a cigarette and pulled out his digivice instead. He frowned as he examined the screen. There were only six flashing dots, the same number since their group first separated from others. It never sensed the addition of Joe, Mimi and Iori or the disappearance of Ken. The damn thing still didn't seem to work in this world.

"I'm gonna take a piss," he declared sharply, marching away from the group.

Tai watched him disappear behind the dense foliage before stretching his arms. "Actually, this looks like a pretty good place to make camp. It's getting late."

"What happened to trying to find Izzy?" Sora shot at him.

"We're going to find him," Tai replied, his voice serious and strained. "But at this point we're so far behind whatever was moving those trees that calling it a day really isn't going to make much of a difference."

"Tai…" Kari murmured, concerned.

Tai softened at his sister's voice. "I'm fine, Kari."

The eyes that were an image of his own stared at him knowingly and Tai turned away. "I'm going to find some firewood," he muttered.

The rest of the evening followed the same pattern. Awkward tension spiked the air and most of the group was clueless as to why. Mimi stuck like glue to Joe, avoiding Tai at all costs, but as the sun began to set and the firelight illuminated their faces, Joe finally pulled himself away from the younger girl to use the bushes just after Sora had gone to do the same.

Tai leapt to his feet at the opportunity and approached her, ignoring the stares from the others. "Mimi, I need to talk to you."

Mimi's eyes widened and she looked around for any sort of help. Kari still wasn't in on the exact story and there was no one else that could feasibly stop this confrontation from happening. She finally surrendered. He led her into the woods in silence and when he seemed satisfied that they were alone, he turned to her. The anger and despair in his eyes made Mimi swallow heavily.

"Tai…"

"Why, Mimi? Why would you tell Sora?"

"I thought she should know… if she's going to be with you."

"You saw us kiss."

Mimi nodded. "But that's not why. I was already on my way to tell her."

"Why then?"

"Because I'm sick of being selfish, Tai," Mimi cried. "I slept with you because you understood how I felt; I kept it a secret because I didn't want to deal with the consequences. It was a mistake and I wish I could take it back, but Sora deserved to know the truth. She shouldn't make a decision without knowing everything."

"What about Joe, Mimi? Shouldn't he know the truth too?"

A branch cracked and the pair turned to the foliage, startled. Joe was frozen, his forearm holding a leaf from his path. "I heard voices."

The silence that ensued was pregnant with dread.

"Please tell me I didn't overhear what I just overheard…" the spectacled college freshman begged, looking between them.

"Joe," Mimi choked.

"Joe," Tai said at the same time. "It didn't mean anything, we -"

A fist slammed into Tai's mouth before he could finish his sentence and he stumbled backward, falling to the ground.

Joe looked down at Tai as if he couldn't believe what he had just done. His dark eyes passed between him and Mimi in shock and he took off, rubbing his knuckles.

Tai spit blood and Mimi rushed past him, tears streaming down her face. "Joe, wait! Please!"

When Joe reached the camp, he began pacing in front of the fire and Mimi came bursting through the foliage. "Joe, please listen to me..."

TK, Kari, and Iori looked up from the game of cards they had begun and Matt stopped drumming his fingers against his knee.

Joe ran both his hands through his long hair before cradling his fist. "That really hurt."

"Joe…" Mimi sobbed.

Tai suddenly appeared in the firelight, his lip swollen and bleeding.

Matt jumped from his seat. "What the hell happened?"

"I hit Tai," Joe said flatly. His mouth curled up a little. "How do you do that more than once, Matt? His face is hard."

Matt turned to Tai for an explanation, but the brunette only looked to the ground in shame. Kari rushed to her brother's side, but he refused to acknowledge her concern.

"I'm so sorry, Joe… I thought - I thought you didn't like me… I would have never, I-I just… Michael broke my heart and you weren't there," Mimi blubbered.

"What's going on?" Matt's eyes narrowed as he waited for an answer.

Sora suddenly burst through the brush, almost colliding with TK and Iori. "I heard yelling," she panted. Her gaze moved across the scene, taking in Joe and Mimi's distress and Tai's busted lip. There were enough clues to give away exactly what had happened.

"Tai, you're such a jerk!"

Tai looked like he had been struck again by Sora's exclamation. "I didn't mean for Joe to hear. I was just angry Mimi told you…"

"What did Mimi tell you?" Matt asked, his icy gaze shifting to his ex.

Sora turned scarlet.

"Mimi and Tai slept together," Joe muttered, still rubbing his knuckles. Mimi let out a shameful sob and Joe looked at Tai, betrayed. "You knew how I felt about her."

Mimi's sobs halted and she did a complete one-eighty, facing the eldest Yagami. "What?"

"Mimi…"

The petite, chestnut-haired girl flew at the bushy haired boy, beating him with her small fists. "I hate you, Tai, I hate you! I hate you!"

Joe grabbed her waist and pulled her back. "Mimi, calm down!"

"You never told me!" she bawled, still swinging her fists at Tai, who was shielding himself with his arms. "How could you?"

Suddenly Mimi's energy died out and she weakened in Joe's arms, heart wrenching sobs escaping her lips.

Matt's cold gaze fell on Tai. "Why would you be upset she told Sora?"

Tai didn't have a chance to respond.

"Because he's in love with her!" Mimi shouted angrily. "They were kissing in the park!"

Matt's eyes darted between his best friend and his ex-girlfriend, looking for confirmation. Sora's face matched the color of her hair and tears gathered on the bottom of her lids.

"I'm sorry, Matt," Tai pleaded. "This isn't how I wanted you to find out…"

Matt ground his teeth together so loudly that the entire group could hear it.

"Matt…" TK's soft voice attempted to soothe his brother, but he was too late.

Matt took two long strides toward Tai and tackled him to the ground.

"Bastard!" he growled, slugging the brunette in the eye.

Tai threw up his arms, shielding himself. "You aren't even together anymore!"

"Thanks to you!"

Matt attempted to pry Tai's arm from his face so he could hit him properly, but the action distracted him from the fist that came flying into his stomach. The air was knocked from his lungs and he wheezed in attempt to catch his breath as Tai slammed him against the ground, pinning him down.

"Tai, stop it!" Sora shouted, her voice choked with tears.

Fury kept her from reaching him.

"I've kept my mouth shut all these years for you," Tai snarled, again slamming the blonde hard against the ground as he continued to wheeze. "You knew how I felt about her, but I never said anything because of you!"

Matt coughed, finally catching his breath. "I gave you plenty of time to tell her the truth," he grimaced. "It's not my fault you were too big of a pansy to admit it before she chose me."

There wasn't a moment of hesitation before Tai's fist slammed the words from his mouth. Matt cursed and spit blood into the brunette's face, successfully distracting him long enough to throw a punch in the side of his head, knocking him off.

The two wrestled violently, each eating their share of punches, ignoring Sora's pleas for them to stop. TK and Joe attempted to pry them apart, but it was hard to get close to the fury of flying fists. Tai had managed to pin down the blonde again and he pulled his fist back.

A stick suddenly flew into Tai's stomach, successfully halting his attack. He fell backward off of Matt and before the blonde could make a move, he was also attacked with the flying stick.

"THAT! IS! ENOUGH!"

They both froze, looking up to meet enraged eyes of green.

Iori held the stick threateningly between them.

"Don't you see what this is doing?" he yelled, looking at the bloodied pair. "The enemy wants this to happen! How are we supposed to take on whatever shook those trees if we're fighting each other? How are we supposed to save Izzy? Yolei, Davis and Ken are alone out there and all you people can think about is your screwed up love lives!"

"Cody…" Tai murmured.

"And it's Iori, damn it!" The youngest chosen child's gaze drifted over the group. "I'm ashamed of all of you. Is this really how friends treat each other?" He looked at TK and Kari. "I've barely seen you two since you went to high school…and I expect this animosity between you and Davis to be resolved when we see him again."

Kari turned red and TK bit his lip.

"Now, I'm going to bed," Iori continued, looking around at his fellow chosen. "I'm taking this stick with me and I will use it again if I have to. I sincerely hope that you all either make up, or grin and bear it until we're out of here."

Everyone stared at Iori in shock and he gave a curt bow. "Goodnight."

The fighting was over, but as everyone slowly began to murmur, disperse, or calm their cries, Iori realized it was going to take a lot more than one speech to repair the damage that had been done.

* * *

He was lost. The silent city was huge and there was no sign of his friends.

Ken sighed, shifting the bag on his shoulder in aggravation. He was angry with himself for not being able to navigate his way around. He grew up in Tokyo; he was used to city life. Yet, here he felt like a rat in a maze, except there was no cheese and he was worried that someone had sent a cat in after him.

Occasionally, he heard a rustle in the park or the sound of something falling in an alleyway that couldn't be attributed to something as trivial as wind.

Ken was sure the creature was following him. Why it didn't attack was beyond his understanding. Then again, just because it was hideous didn't necessarily mean it was his foe.

Ken shook his head. No… he had seen the hatred in those coal eyes. Something else had to be holding the creature back.

A loud noise came from behind him and Ken darted around, looking down the empty street. There was another bang to his far left. This time he caught a glimpse of what was making the sound.

The creature was pulling on a building with all its strength, using claws to topple bricks, break windows, and tear down anything else it could reach. Blood dripped from its wounded hands, sliding down its deathly gray skin as it continued its wild rampage.

With a bravery that bordered on stupidity, Ken slowly approached the ravaging monster. He had to quickly dodge a brick that flew in his direction, ducking behind a car parked on the side of the street. The creature was close to him now, only yards away. Unobscured by foliage, Ken could see the enormity of the beast. If it was standing straight, it would be close to five stories tall. Instead it remained hunched over, its spine and ribs visible through its stretched pallid skin.

Ken took a deep breath and revealed himself. "Who are you?" he shouted.

The creature halted its destruction and turned its horrible human-like face on him.

Ken's blood ran cold and he found himself frozen in its terrible black gaze. A mixture of hatred, hunger, fury, pain, and sorrow swam in those deep white-less eyes. They were emotions too complex for a mindless creature bent on destruction. Its long neck lowered its strange distorted face and Ken noticed the skin seemed to slip from its skull as it moved, dangling loosely from its jaw.

"W-what are you?" Ken stuttered, adrenaline pumping through his veins.

The creature cocked its head, like a puppy when watching its master. The skin on its face slid with the angle, almost as if it was unattached. A crooked clawed hand slowly reached in the air and to Ken's surprise, one finger stretched further than the rest, pointing at him.

The voice that emitted from its lips was like many voices in one, screeching in agony.

"Y-y-y-" it stuttered; the noise sounded as if it were about to vomit.

Ken took a step back.

"Y-you-"

Whether or not the creature had more to say, Ken never knew. It suddenly screamed in despair, its clawed hand pulling away from Ken and flying to its head, cradling it in agony. Ken covered his ears to drown out the sound.

Then, as quick as it had begun, it stopped. The creature lowered its hands from its head and returned its gaze to Ken. The sorrow in its eyes dissipated and only hatred remained. Its arm joints seemed to twist unnaturally, bending at an angle that most closely resembled an insect, and the creature fell to the ground on all fours.

Its hideous human lips smiled.

* * *

Izzy's eyes bolted open and panic set in.

"Please," he begged, his voice choked with anguish. "Make it stop."

There was no answer in the dark room.

Izzy tugged furiously against his bonds and an angry energy burned through him.

"I can't control it!" he shouted, pulling his wrists so violently in their shackles that he could feel them dig into his skin. They were already tender and bruised from days of struggling and hanging as his knees drooped beneath him in restless sleep.

There was still nothing but the strange sound of steady breathing.

"What the hell is that sound?"

Tears found their way to the corners of his lids as he exhausted the remainder of his energy. Animamon wasn't there and there was no answer to his question. The breathing had been the same since he was captured, only unheard by Izzy when Animamon's other captives were loudly protesting their imprisonment.

Now the captives were gone and their souls had joined part of Izzy's in an abominable creation. Somehow, the small part of Izzy that existed within the monster was supposed to control the thing that struggled in pain and longed for destruction, but when he was most aware of his existence in the creature, he was only overtaken by its strong hateful desires. His moments inside it were like a horrible nightmare, clearest when he slept.

His waking moments made his existence in the creature feel like a strange intangible sixth sense, like the phenomena some twins claimed they possessed. He could feel the emotions, the pain… the life force of the creature.

This time, it felt almost as if he had been kicked out of his sleep. As if the creature didn't want his presence there. Izzy could feel the hatred and hunger and he remembered the foggy vision of prey that had stared into his/its eyes in utter fear. He had tried desperately to stop the creature from pursuit, pushing memories of friendship to the forefront of its mind and then he was jolted awake.

Could it be possible that the other souls were fighting against him?

As the blurry vision of Ken's face swam in Izzy's awakened state, he remembered the feeling that had overwhelmed the creature to the point of hatred.

Recognition.

* * *

The last rays of golden sunshine were beginning to set behind the rocky desert cliffs, causing the light around them to glow a dark red. The temperature dropped in the dry air, cooling off the plains of dried grass with the breeze.

It reminded him of an autumn night.

Davis carried a small collection of burnable objects. These strange fields were filled with piles of trash like a junkyard. In his arms he held a couple of chair legs he had broken off as well as pieces of empty cardboard boxes.

Yolei was sitting on the ground, legs crossed, her knee bouncing erratically as she rummaged through the food in her bag. Her eyes darted up at him and he saw relief wash over her tense face.

"What took you so long?"

Davis dropped the pile of junk on the ground in front of her and she scooted back some, looking at it with a raised eyebrow.

"Had to pry the legs off a chair with my bare hands," he explained, stretching his hands to crack his knuckles.

"Why didn't you just bring the whole chair?"

Davis blushed, realizing he had done things the hard way. "We needed kindling too. Didn't want to make two trips," he covered. "Plus, I felt like ripping something up."

He grabbed an apple from Yolei's bag and tossed it into the air before biting into it, ignoring her rolling eyes. As he set to work lighting the fire with his Zippo, he noticed Yolei grow tense and her knee began shaking again. When the cardboard had successfully lit and the flames began to lick up the wooden chair legs Davis sat down beside her, grabbing his own bag of supplies.

After digging inside for a moment, he pulled out a bottle of vodka and rum, setting them in front of the girl.

"You, my friend, need to relax," Davis grinned.

"I hope you aren't expecting me to drink that."

"That's exactly what I'm expecting you to do."

"I thought you were saving them for antiseptic purposes."

"You didn't really believe that bullshit, did you?"

"Not really."

Davis smiled and picked up the bottle of rum, loosening the cap. "So… have a drink with me."

"Davis, I don't really think we should be drinking right now. What if there's another monster out there?"

He looked sideways at the violet-haired girl. "Is that what's got you so uptight?"

"I'm not uptight."

Davis laughed and shook his head before pouring almost a shot's worth of rum into the bottle cap. He held it out to her, a smirk plastered on his face. "C'mon…"

Yolei stared at the cap, her amber eyes peering under furrowed brows. "Where's yours?"

"I'll take the vodka. Girls like rum better, right?" He pushed it in front of her face, his smirk widening into a grin. "You know you want it…"

She hesitantly took the cap from his fingertips. "Fine," she grumbled. "Just one."

Davis didn't hesitate opening the vodka. He held the bottle up in the air. "To finding the others… and gettin' the hell out of here."

Yolei clinked her little cap to his bottle and they both downed the swig of liquor. Davis beamed as she sputtered, making small disgusted faces.

"Ugh," she spat. "That was so not worth it."

Davis grabbed the cap from her, exchanging it for the bottle of rum. "It will be if you have another."

She tried to push the bottle away, but he forced it into her hands.

"Don't make me drink alone."

"You shouldn't be drinking at all," Yolei chastised.

Davis chuckled. "Just one more to take the edge off," he promised. Then, as he watched her shake her head in protest, he lifted up his bottle of vodka.

"To us," he toasted.

Yolei's face instantly turned red and her eyes widened behind her rims.

"We make a good team, right?"

As she watched him carefully, Davis felt his own face burn with embarrassment. He was about to take back his claim when Yolei suddenly lifted her bottle to his, clinking it gently.

"To us."

The next shot of alcohol was taken with a smile.

* * *

The forest was pitch-black, only illuminated by the low glow of the fire. Wood crackled softly in the quiet night and flames flickered spots of light against the strangely shaped trees that balanced on their roots above the earth.

"Sit still."

Tai seemed to squirm even more in response and Kari sighed in exasperation, removing a damp cloth from his cheek. He mumbled a half-hearted apology and she set back to work cleaning the blood from his face. As her brother's dark eyes focused on his clenched hands, Kari felt her gaze drift to her left where TK was sitting with Matt and Joe. The doctor-in-training was diligently working to stop the blood that poured from Matt's nose.

As if sensing her, TK's bright eyes lifted and he flashed Kari a gentle smile. Warmth crawled over her cheeks and she looked back to Tai, who had suddenly become very still. Kari couldn't help but feel for him as she saw the despair in his eyes. She hated seeing her brother sad. He was usually so optimistic, letting pain and sorrow bump off him with a defiant grin. He was her stronghold, her protector, and their leader. Now he looked ashamed and defeated.

She couldn't help but notice how familiar that look was. The memory broke her heart.

"Can I take a look at it?"

Joe's voice caused the Yagami siblings to jump. His lips were stretched thin in a grim expression. He adjusted the frames that had begun to slide to the end of his nose.

"Joe, I-"

"I'm just going to check the cut under your eye," Joe clarified, successfully cutting Tai off.

Kari shifted as the college freshman squatted beside her, digging through his bag of supplies. He pulled out a pack of sterile wipes and bandages, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. After opening a wipe, he examined the cut just above Tai's cheekbone, which was already swelling from its collision with Matt's fist.

"I don't have any ice to stop the swelling," Joe remarked, pressing firmly against the cut with the alcohol wipe. "The bruises are going to be nasty for awhile."

Tai grimaced and Joe used even more pressure in response. "Ow!"

"Shut up."

Tai didn't retaliate to the angered remark; he only clenched his teeth as Joe continued to work, cleaning dirt and blood from his face. Kari stood and flashed her brother a look of pity as she dusted off her skirt. She saw TK glance in her direction. He turned back to his brother and patted his shoulder before meeting her on the other side of the fire where Iori was lying in the dirt, gazing into the dark sky.

"How are things on your end?" TK whispered, eyes flickering to Tai's sullen form.

"I don't know," Kari murmured honestly. "I can't tell if Joe is trying to make up with Tai or torture him. How's Matt?"

She peered at the lonely blonde. He was holding his head back to stop his nose from bleeding and his handsome face was still streaked with red. His foot was bouncing incessantly with nervous energy and every so often she caught his icy eyes dart into the forest where Mimi and Sora had disappeared.

"He's pissed," TK stated, shrugging his shoulders.

"He knew Tai was in love with her," Kari said, defending her brother.

"They just broke up, Kari. It was too soon." TK ran a hand through his hair, a hardened look spreading over his features. "He feels betrayed."

A wave of remorse came over Kari as she picked out the empathy in his voice. "TK…"

His expression immediately softened and he grabbed her hand, giving her a small squeeze of reassurance. The action caused a million emotions to flood through her. The situation that had unfolded was, in many ways, similar to their own. She turned from the blonde and Tai met her eyes once more.

For a moment her heart stopped beating as his eyes changed to a richer brown, his skin to a darker tan, and burgundy hair spilled onto his forehead.

And then he was Tai again, but the expression remained.

Kari couldn't hide the tear that rolled down her cheek.

TK gently wiped it away.


	22. Coming Full Circle

**Innocent Games**

(Author's note: I'm sooooo sorry for the delay! This chapter was long (I ended up not writing two scenes that should've gone into it because it was just too much). And well, real life likes to put things like this on hold. My apologies! I really want to thank you all so much for your continued support and patience. Even though it took me a month to get this one out, I promise that this story is on its way to be completed! Hopefully this will be the longest you'll have to wait between chapters. Comments and criticism welcome.)

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Two  
Coming Full Circle**

The whole ground seemed to vibrate under his feet as he ran. It felt as if the air had thickened and his legs couldn't carry him fast enough through it. Ken skid around a corner and into an alleyway, almost losing his footing and scraping his hands against the wall as he caught himself. Bricks crashed to the pavement as the creature barreled after him on all fours, running into the side of a building.

Its hideous voice cried out in agony and frustration and Ken stole a glance over his shoulder, watching the creature pull itself into the narrow alley, its lips curling back to reveal fangs. Ken quickly turned around, seeking escape, but part of him wondered if this was a nightmare come true. He imagined falling to the ground, unable to move as the creature caught up to him, but instead of waking up in a cold sweat he'd actually feel that final blow.

Fear pushed him past his limits. Even though his muscles were like jelly, one foot kept finding its way in front of the other, keeping him just ahead of his likely end. He knew he couldn't keep this up forever. Eventually he would collapse with exhaustion or the beast would simply catch up to him.

The thought pushed his legs faster. He couldn't die yet. He had to find Yolei first. He had to get her out of this place. He had to find Davis and relay Kari's message. He had to redeem himself of his past and he had to destroy the one who was forcing him to relive it.

Ken could almost feel the creature's breath on his back and he kept repeating "not yet" like a mantra in his mind, forcing himself forward. A door was coming up on his right, and he knew what he had to do. There was no way he was outrunning this thing. He stole another glance over his shoulder as bloodied claws reached for him. Then he sent up a prayer that the door was unlocked and that going inside could buy him some time.

The moment almost came too quickly. Ken was only just ahead of furious fangs as he grasped the handle in desperation. It didn't budge. Then, just as he was about to be taken, he slammed his shoulder into the door and it flew open.

On the other side blackness awaited him and the memory that spilled into existence was no better than the living nightmare he had just escaped.

* * *

Her face was warm and tingling as if the firelight that crackled around her was licking it up. She giggled at the mental image and saw Davis raise a questioning eyebrow at her.

Being drunk was still a fairly new experience for Yolei.

She had drank before (her brother found it particularly hilarious to see her tipsy and would often sneak her drinks during family events), but she usually quit as soon as she felt the effects of the alcohol. She didn't like what it did to her. Her head would grow fuzzy and words would come tumbling out of her at a more alarming and uncensored rate than they did when she was sober. She already had trouble controlling her mouth as it was.

This time Yolei allowed herself the liberty to go overboard. It hadn't taken long after the second shot for her to loosen up enough to take a third. Davis had quit after that, claiming he didn't want to relive his puking incident. For Yolei, the stress and anxiety of the past few days seemed to melt away beneath the hard liquor and it felt so good not to worry that she had snuck in another shot when Davis wasn't looking.

"What's it 'bout Kari you like s'much, anyway?" The words sprung loose as soon as the gate was opened and Yolei inwardly scolded her fuzzy mind for allowing her thoughts to verbalize.

They had just been laughing about a particularly embarrassing event involving Poromon and his discovery of the human male anatomy. The incident had taken place when Yolei spent the night at the Yagami home and it ended with a horrified Tai, a very confused pink digimon, and Yolei cracking up while Kari tried to subdue her in order to spare her brother further mortification. Yolei didn't think there was anyone she was less like than Kari; _she_ would've been teasing _her_ brother for weeks.

Davis stopped fiddling with the fire and leaned back on his hands, grinning at her cheekily. "Jealous?"

" 'n yer dreams," Yolei slurred, waving a hand at him. Despite her words, she leaned against his shoulder to stare at the stars. "She's pretty n' sweet. I love Kari! Who wouldn't love 'er?"

Davis swirled the liquor bottle in his hand. "Yeah…" he mumbled.

"She's perfect," Yolei said bitterly, eyes narrowing under her rims as the verbal vomit began. "O'course ya love 'er. E'rybody loves Kari. Dig'mon worship 'er. The older guys adore 'er. TK loves 'er, you love 'er, even Ken loves 'er."

The alcohol had done its job. All Yolei's fears and insecurities took hold and fell from her lips without a filter. Tears bubbled in her eyes and the giddy high she had been experiencing gave way to the depressant.

Davis groaned. "Ken doesn't love Kari."

"Yeah 'e does. You all do!" Yolei sniffled, pushing herself from his shoulder. The action made her sway slightly and she tried desperately to gain control of herself.

"Yolei, you're drunk."

"Yer drunk!" she bit back, pointing her bottle of rum in his face.

Davis chuckled and gently pried the bottle from her hands. "Not as drunk as you are."

"S'your fault!" she argued while he shoved the liquor bottles into his bag.

"You feel better now though, doncha?"

Yolei's head was spinning and she was half tempted to smack the cocky grin off Davis's face. "No, now I feel drunk."

He laughed.

"S'not funny," she slurred, shoving him. The sloppy attempt ended up with her falling against his chest.

Davis chuckled again. "You're a mess."

Yolei's head felt heavy and her face was tingling and loose. She could feel Davis's heartbeat beneath his shirt and she wrapped her arms tightly around his middle, causing her glasses to go askew. "Yer warm."

She felt him stiffen, but she didn't care. The alcohol had taken away her inhibitions. It felt nice to be like this. There was something reassuring about being close to Davis; he was comforting and familiar in this strange new place. Her mind wandered back in their conversation.

"D'you think anybody'll ever love me like Kari?"

"Huh?"

"I know 'm loud n' not pretty, but d'you think someone'll love me anyway?"

Davis shifted beneath her, clearly uncomfortable, before answering. "Sure…"

His hesitant response made her erupt in tears. "No they won't!" she weeped, clinging more tightly to Davis's middle. "I'm hideous!"

Yolei felt a rumble in his chest and a deep uncontrollable intoxicated laughter burst from the younger boy. Despair filled her and she attempted to push away, but his arms quickly wrapped around her, holding her firmly in place. The more she struggled, the harder he laughed.

"Lemme go, y'jackass," she mumbled, her cheek flattened against his chest.

He had fallen into a giggle fit and was beginning to wheeze.

"S'mean," she cried.

Davis loosened his hold on her and finally stopped laughing long enough to choke out a "What?"

Yolei freed her mouth from the fabric of his shirt. "Yer so mean," she repeated.

His laughter returned and his strong arms once again squashed her face into his chest. "Poor Miyako."

Her cheeks puffed up with anger and she was about to let loose a string of insults when he cut her off.

"You're not hideous."

Yolei's heart seemed to stop beating and she took in a deep shaky breath. Davis allowed enough room for her to lift her head. A lopsided smile graced his lips and he reached down, pushing her awry glasses back in place.

"For a nerd."

Without even thinking, she slugged him in the jaw. It was a weak drunken punch, but Davis's hands still flew to his face and Yolei was finally free of his grasp. She pushed herself from the ground and stood up, teetering.

"Jerk!" she bellowed, pointing her finger at his face. It seemed to sway between four brown eyes that swam in her vision. Standing up had definitely accentuated her drunkenness.

"Damn it, Yolei! Can't you take a joke?" Davis muttered, rubbing his jaw. He stood up and she took a step back, almost tripping over her own feet. He caught her wrist, holding her steady.

"Why can't you e'er be serious?" she spat. "I was spillin' my heart out t'you."

"You spill your heart out to everyone."

Yolei could hear the underlying meaning in his voice and even through her fuzzy mind, the words hurt. She attempted to yank her wrist from his grip, but he wouldn't let go.

"You're pretty, ok?" Davis blurted, his tan face twisting and flushed with pink.

A hot blush crawled across Yolei's face. "Yer just sayin' that so I don't hit you 'gain."

"You've got some real self esteem issues," he claimed. "You don't have to be like Kari for someone to love you, Yolei."

Yolei suddenly felt like she was disconnected from the moment, looking at it through frosted glass. She was trying to search for the sincerity in Davis's dark eyes, but everything was a haze and she felt her eyelids drooping.

"That's nice…" she murmured, leaning forward slightly. She felt Davis tighten his grip on her wrist and his other hand fell against her shoulder to steady her as she swayed.

"You ok?"

Yolei attempted to back away from him, but she stumbled. She felt so sleepy. She tried to tell him she was tired, but her lips wouldn't cooperate and the word came out distorted.

Davis seemed to understand anyway. "C'mon, let's sleep it off, lightweight," he chuckled.

"Shaddup."

He only grinned, pulled her arm over his shoulder and wrapped his other hand around her waist, helping her stagger to her sleeping spot. Yolei's eyes were locked on his face and she noticed him flush as she continued to stare. She reached up and poked his spiky hair, giggling as the gelled strands crunched beneath her finger.

"Those shots really snuck up on ya, huh?"

"Mmmmhmmm," Yolei hummed as Davis helped sit her on the ground. She immediately lied down, happy to rest her head.

Davis disappeared for a moment before coming back to her side. There was a looseness in his gait that could only be attributed to the alcohol he had consumed. He plopped down beside her, grinning like an idiot, and draped Yolei's sweater over her.

She couldn't help but smile back. The world spun around her and she closed her eyes. The last thing she felt was a hand gently smoothing her hair, but it very well could have been a dream.

* * *

Dirt and rotting debris kicked up from under the shoes that padded along the forest floor. It was something that Tai never noticed before. He wasn't usually looking at the ground and it was even rarer for him to be trailing behind the group, making these types of observations, but he couldn't bear to lead them now.

A leaf crunched beneath Matt's boot and floated in the air for just a moment, landing on Tai's sneaker. A sad snort-like chuckle escaped him as he stopped to stare at the single browned and decaying leaf that seemed to crinkle and crack apart as it rested on his shoe. He could sense the blonde halt and he slowly lifted his eyes to see the icy stare that rested on Matt's bruised and battered face.

Tai attempted a halfhearted smile, hoping that maybe the gesture would bring back some sense of normalcy, but Matt's eyes only narrowed and darted to the redhead in front of them. Tai followed his gaze and a flash of auburn appeared in the corner of Sora's eye. Then it was as if she had seen nothing and her eyes returned to TK's back.

Tai kicked the leaf off his foot.

TK and Iori had taken the lead, guiding the disgruntled group through the trees, hoping to find some clue to the cause of the swaying treetops. The girls had gathered in a type of support group just behind the two leaders, gently murmuring to one another on occasion. Joe and Matt were following them at a safe distance and Tai trailed behind them, alone.

When Joe turned to see what was keeping Matt, pain was apparent in his dark eyes and Tai returned to his observation of the forest floor as they continued on without him. It was the first time he felt like he didn't belong. Tai had come to heads with Matt before - plenty of times. In fact, he'd royally screwed up many things during their first adventure in the digital world, but back then he knew things would come together in the end. Somehow he knew his friends would stand by him even when he failed as a leader.

But how could friends stand by you when you failed as a friend?

Joe, Mimi, Matt, and Sora; Tai squeezed his eyes shut and pressed a hand to his face, reliving the shock, pain, and betrayal in their eyes. He had let so many things get out of control and somehow it all stemmed back to his lack of courage.

His chest ached and he took a deep breath to remind himself he wasn't really drowning. He tried to tear his thoughts away from the kiss he had shared with Sora and the world that swam through his imagination, one where they had shared many kisses and they had only ever had each other. Is that what it would have been like if he confessed his feelings to her when they were still children?

Tai shook his head and continued his dejected pace behind the others. It didn't matter what could have been. In reality, he could only relive the disappointment that flashed on Sora's face when his transgressions were revealed. For one drunken night, one moment of temptation to erase her from his mind, he had lost his chance at ever being with her. He could tell by the look in her eyes she wasn't sure if she even knew him anymore.

In all honesty, Tai wasn't sure if he knew himself.

"Tai?"

His dark eyes darted up, catching a spark of blue from the head of the group. TK was looking at him, a warm smile on his face.

"Iori and I are a little lost… which way do you think we should go?"

Tai tried to ignore the various gazes that were cast in his direction and a sad smile formed on the corner of his mouth at TK's kind gesture. "I'm pretty sure we're going in the right direction. You guys are doing fine."

He watched TK nod and meet glances with Kari, who gave the blonde a look of appreciative adoration. As the group continued their journey through the digital forest, Kari broke away from the girls and stood to the side, waiting for Tai to catch up to her. She pushed a strand of hair from her face and hooked her arm in the crook of his elbow, smiling gently up at him. His heart softened and he rubbed her head affectionately, causing her silky strands to stick up in all directions.

It was just like Kari to be a beacon of light in his darkness. Tai never had to question the meaning of the crest she inherited.

"Thanks, sis. It was getting lonely back here," he whispered, a tone mixed of jest and sorrow in his voice.

"It's going to be ok," Kari murmured. "They'll forgive you."

Tai sighed, rubbing a bruise on his jaw line as his eyes wandered to Joe and Matt. "I don't think I'd forgive me."

"You made a mistake, but you aren't a bad person. We all make mistakes. We've all done stupid selfish things," she choked and Tai saw her eyes glance between TK and Sora before they returned to him. "You'll always be my leader, Tai."

Tai stopped walking and immediately scooped his sister into his arms, clinging to her tightly. He didn't have a chance to tell her that her words were the only thing that could possibly keep him going in the world that had broken his own apart.

The darkness took them together.

* * *

_The ocean crashed against the shore, the only sound in the eerie silence around him. The world was like a black veil wrapped around his face in mourning; he stumbled to the beach, the sound of the waves his only guide in the darkness._

_Since the death of his brother, Ken had lived in a haze of grief, anger, and guilt. Vague memories of another world floated in his mind, but there was something keeping them from becoming clear. This place, though, was nothing like the distant memories. The ocean called to him, a reminder of the emotions of inferiority and jealousy that caused him to wish Sam away. _

_The e-mail Ken received on his computer screen flashed through his mind with its promises of freedom and domination. They were the promises of a world where he could escape the expectations of his parents, the sorrow of his loss, and the mundane commotion of the insects that crawled around him._

_The metal digivice in his hand felt heavy. Like a weight of burden it dragged him into the dark water, pulling his hand beneath the waves. It was as if another force compelled him, guiding his actions. Beneath the water the digivice transformed, expanding its shape, black rubber grips and dark metal molding into his hand. Images of Sam's angered face and the claim to the device in Ken's hand flashed in his eyes._

"_This is mine now," Ken proclaimed, gripping it tightly as he pulled it from the water, as if to protect it from anyone who dared to oppose him. "No one can ever take it away from me or hide it in a drawer!"_

_Suddenly a trigger set off in the back of his neck, sending euphoric waves through his mind and Ken smiled for the first time since his brother's death._

_The darkness had set him free._

The dark ocean swam before him, its water both inviting and revolting to him. Ken took a step back and stumbled, falling backwards onto the beach. His hands were shaking as they dug in the sand, dragging his body away from the black water that washed against the shore.

"No," he cried. "I don't want to go back…"

His eyes darted around in anticipation of the forces that awaited him. Myotismon, Daemon, centuries of evil and power seeped in the water that crawled toward his feet. Overwhelmed by fear, Ken pulled himself into a ball, covering his face with his arms, awaiting the destruction he knew he deserved.

The time only passed with the sound of lapping waves against a gray and dismal shore.

Ken slowly came to his senses, remembering where he was and how he was brought back to this place. With trembling limbs, he pushed himself to his feet and stared out at the water. This was only his memory, just an imitation of the world that manifested the darkest desires and fears of both human and digital kind. He took in a deep shattered breath, trying to calm the rapid beating of his heart.

Just the imitation was enough to drive him mad. He shook his head violently, forcing himself to refocus. He didn't have the luxury to succumb to his punishment, fear, or self-pity. He had to face this; he had to live through these memories to save his friends. They deserved more from him than his sins.

Ken turned from the ocean and his indigo eyes trailed the steep rocky cliffs that dropped into the sandy shore. With a breath of determination, he trudged through the sand and began to climb.

From the top he could see the vastness of his nightmare, but then he spotted a change in the darkness. A bridge attached to a dock on the shore and led deep into the ocean. Ken's eyes followed it until they stopped at a city floating on water surrounded by a transparent globe. It only took him a moment before he realized where his memory had been placed.

The new dark ocean had found its home by Machinedramon's city. Ken bit back a laugh of irony. He had come full circle in more ways than one.

* * *

The western plains were slowly fading into a dry desert just in time for the mid-morning sun to reach them.

Davis wiped the forming sweat from his brow and shifted his spears on his shoulders. "Aw, man… why's it always gotta be so hot?"

A shallow groan was his only response.

Davis turned around to see Yolei sans glasses, rubbing the bridge of her nose to nurse a headache. He couldn't help the grin that broke out on his face. "Overdid it last night, didn't ya?"

She pulled her hand from her face and replaced it with her glasses, glaring at him. Her cheeks reddened and she shifted the bag on her shoulder, crossing her arms across her chest. The action accentuated the cleavage that was revealed by her low cut shirt and Davis quickly averted his eyes to kick at a rock in his path.

"I can't believe I let you convince me to take shots."

"I only had to talk you into the first two, the rest was all you," Davis chuckled.

"I still blame you," Yolei retaliated. She pushed her long violet hair behind her shoulder, already feeling the heat of the sun.

When Davis glanced at her, he saw her lightly tanned skin was glistening with sweat and her cheeks were flushed.

"So, you think I'm pretty?"

Davis tripped and just barely avoided falling on his face. She was teasing him, obviously, but the blush on her face had deepened. "Uh... I, uh…"

"I know I wasn't drunk enough to imagine that," Yolei went on, music in her voice. "You totally said I was pretty, Davis."

"Y-yeah… for a nerd."

Unlike last night she didn't seem angered by his comment; instead a grin grew on her lips. She didn't bother him anymore about it, but it suddenly seemed as if her hangover had been cured.

Davis turned his complete focus to the path ahead, trying to refocus his thoughts. The dry plains had given way to a rocky desert and the heat was only increasing as they went. He shifted his makeshift spears again, balancing them on one shoulder in order to pull out a lukewarm bottle of water. He used his teeth to unscrew the cap and spit in his hand before taking a long gulp. The balancing act resumed, the bottle returned to his bag, and the spears returned to both shoulders.

He could see Yolei watching him with amusement, but he chose to ignore her. It was better not to think about her right now. Of course, attempting not to think about her made thoughts of her race through his mind in defiance.

Despite their constant bickering, Yolei was one of his oldest friends. Davis had stuck to the older girl throughout his childhood, for more reasons than the friendship their sisters forced upon them. In a way, he and Yolei had both been misfits when they were young. Davis was loud, pushy, easily angered and too eager to impress. Yolei was… exactly the same, plus a geek. Even though their nearly identical personalities caused them to clash, they also understood each other in a world of peers that just didn't understand. In every other way, they were opposites. Besides their interests, their biggest difference was the way they fell in love. Yolei seemed to fall for anything male that moved. It was something Davis often rolled his eyes at and criticized her for.

Yolei, in return, would criticize him for his obsession. Davis's train of thought drifted to Kari and he felt a deep ache in his chest. He had been straddling the line between obsession and love for her for a long time, but his feelings for her were much deeper than her beauty or her kindness. Kari was his light in the darkness, his motivation, his comfort, her compassion and warmth made him strive to be better, her disappointment was like a knife in his heart. Every movement she made was perfect in his eyes.

Davis let out a sigh, kicking another rock. Maybe he _was_ obsessed. And now that he had a part of her, he couldn't seem to bring himself to let her go. A vision of Kari's tears when he confronted her at the party haunted him. He regretted making her cry, but he couldn't help but be angry that she had given him empty hope. Davis wondered how many emotions the girl had kept bottled inside in order for her to act like she had in the rain with him that day.

Maybe that was what made her imperfect. Kari kept too much inside.

Davis didn't understand what that was like. He didn't keep anything in. Emotions and words went flying before he even thought them. His train of thought swerved back to Yolei again and he lost the battle with his brain, stealing a glance back at her.

She was still messing with her long hair and her skin was flushed and shimmering. Behind her glasses, her caramel eyes seemed distracted, darting around the scenery that surrounded them. Her thin legs seemed to go on forever under her short skirt and Davis took advantage of her distraction to steal another glance at her low cut top.

"Davis!"

He blanched, sure he had been caught.

"Look!"

Yolei's finger was pointed to the sky ahead. Davis whipped his head back around and saw smoke. They both immediately picked up the pace, jogging up the hill.

When they reached the top the ruins of a smoldering city sat below them and just beyond was the base of the Digimon Kaiser.

Davis's heart raced and his eyes began searching the ruins. Without a second thought, he took off down the hill.

"KEEENNNNN!" His voice carried through the destruction. "ICHIJOUJI!"

"Davis, wait!"

The excitement of finding his DNA partner was too much, Davis kept moving, trying to find some evidence of his friend in the rubble.

"KEEENNN!"

Homes and shops of digimon were demolished and Davis turned a street corner covered with debris, hurdling over fallen rubble and running in the direction of the base at full speed.

"Davis!" Yolei's voice was more distant now.

"KEENNN! Answer me, Ken!"

It didn't take long for Davis to reach the base. The large floating gray monstrosity that he had once hoped to destroy was now like a beacon of hope. A hanging ladder swung from an entrance. Davis managed to throw a spear into it after a couple tries. Reluctantly, he left the others behind and began to climb. He could hear Yolei shout his name again, this time closer. He cringed inwardly, knowing he was in for a battle with her later. Davis reached for the next rung and the bag on his shoulder slipped, falling two stories to the ground. He could hear glass breaking.

"Aw, damn it!"

"There went all your liquor!"

Davis looked down to see Yolei panting at the bottom of the ladder. She took a moment to pick up a broken bottle and she shoved it in the air, shaking it at him like a scolding finger. "Serves you right for leaving me! What if something attacked us?"

Davis grit his teeth, realizing how rash he had been. Rather than admit his wrongs, he continued to climb. "Hurry and get up here!"

He could hear Yolei mutter something under her breath, most likely an insult, but then the ladder moved beneath him and she was climbing. Davis pulled himself into the entryway of the base and let out another loud call for Ken. The dark, cold hallways only echoed his own voice in response. Behind him, he heard a grunt and he turned around to see Yolei struggling to pull herself into the entrance, both their bags slung over her shoulders.

Davis knelt down and grabbed her arms, yanking her up. Her skin was hot under his sweaty palms and he immediately withdrew from their close proximity, determined not to get distracted. He grabbed his spear, slung it over his shoulder, and began marching down the dark hallway. Yolei followed in silence. The further they went, the further up the hall seemed to slant, bringing them higher and higher into the dwelling of the Kaiser.

"Ken!" Davis shouted again as they passed a number of doorways leading to various places inside the base. The echo of their footsteps answered them and he let out a frustrated groan. "This has gotta be his memory…"

"Maybe he already left."

Davis trudged on, determined to continue his search. The hallway was widening and a doorway was visible just ahead.

This time it was Yolei who yelled, "KEEEN!"

For some reason beyond his comprehension, Davis felt himself cringe and tension rose in his chest. It was a feeling familiar to him, something he often experienced in the presence of Kari and TK. He clenched his teeth as he followed the suddenly exuberant girl, watching her violet hair fly behind her as she disappeared through the doorway. When he caught up, she was staring wide-eyed at a wall full of monitors. A single chair sat before them like an empty throne. Yolei took a seat in it and began typing furiously on the controls, her brows furrowing in concentration.

Davis discarded his spear on the floor and watched as the screens switched from scene to scene. Beaches and deserts transformed into cities, forests, and lakes. "Hey, it's Odaiba!" he said, as the screen revealed the Fuji television station.

Yolei looked at it carefully for a moment before typing again and the colorless lake appeared on another monitor. "This world's a combination of the digital world and our world. The coordinates are all off, but maybe if I can just tap into enough of them, we can get our bearings or see some sign of the others."

Davis leaned against the side of the chair, watching Yolei's long delicate fingers fly over the keys with ease. He never could understand how people typed so fast. It took him a good five minutes to send two lines over his D-terminal. His eyes drifted to her face, watching her tongue stick out as she searched the screens.

Sensing his observation, Yolei's glanced at him and a blush ran across her face. He quickly averted his gaze and began studying the scenery on the monitors for clues. Her typing continued and one monitor became pixilated, distorting like a video over a bad internet connection.

"What happened?"

"I don't know. Maybe I typed something in wrong."

The sound of keys filled the silent room once again and the screen flashed, returning to the distorted image.

"That's weird," Yolei murmured.

With another few keystrokes a new image appeared. A city floated like an island and a bridge led away from it into the desert.

Davis squinted, peering at it closely. "Hey, can you zoom in?"

"Of course I can."

The screen zoomed in on the city, bringing it to street level.

"No! On the bridge."

Yolei muttered something under her breath, but she pressed a few keys and the monitor moved, focusing on the bridge and the dark outline of a figure moving across it. Davis ran up to the screen and jammed a finger into it.

"It's Ken!"

"What!" Yolei jumped up and ran to his side, trying to get a better look. He watched her eyes widen in recognition.

"How can we get there?" Davis asked, his voice filled with excited impatience.

Yolei ran back to the throne of the Kaiser, jumping in it in such a hurry that it spun around once. The keys banged frantically beneath her fingertips. "We have to cross a desert west of here," she explained. "I'm not sure how far it is. The coordinates on everything are wacky."

"Let's fly this thing over there!"

Yolei stared at the controls. "I wonder why Ken didn't use it."

"Who cares?" Davis exclaimed. "It sure as hell beats walking!"

Yolei kept staring at the panel of buttons, knobs, and code. She ran a hand under her glasses, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Fine…"

"So… can I drive it?"

She removed her hand, letting her glasses slide back into position. "No. It doesn't work like that. I just have to enter the coordinates (hope they're right) and the base will fly on its own."

Davis pouted. "Well, can I at least hit the enter button?"

"You're such a kid." Yolei rolled her eyes, but the corner of her mouth curled up in a smile.

Davis watched her fingers glide over the keys as her eyes narrowed in concentration. Yolei scanned through a few more scenes on the monitors, entered some code, and explained what she was doing as she went. The computer jargon that spilled from her mouth was like gibberish to him.

"Can I push it now?" he asked when she had finished.

"You didn't hear a word I just said, did you?"

Davis ignored her chastisement and let his pointer finger float over the enter button, waiting in anticipation for her ok.

Yolei rolled her eyes again. "Yes, you can push it."

The cool button depressed into the control panel it and then the whole base slowly shifted into movement, causing Davis to stumble. A wide grin lit up his face.

"Cool."

The outer wall of the base slid back, revealing a huge window. Davis ran up to it and saw the ruins of the digimon city moving below. Billows of smoke rose into the air around them, the remnants of dust and ash from Chimeramon's attack. It looked like a war scene from a video game or an action movie. Davis half-expected to see bodies and blood, but even when this had happened in the digital world, the digimon had only burst into data. The whole data and reconfiguring thing was still bizarre to Davis; he couldn't really blame Ken for thinking it was all just a game back then.

Yolei appeared beside him, watching the crumbled heaps of rubble roll beneath them.

"I bet it was hard on Ken to see this again," she murmured.

Davis turned back to the ruins without response. For some reason, when he should've been thinking about Ken's psyche, he could only feel that familiar tension rise in his chest.

* * *

It didn't matter how hard he concentrated as the reaper of memories dug through his mind, Tai couldn't control his thoughts from being read and processed as the reaper saw fit. As the dreams clarified, he wondered if he'd even have the will to fight if given the chance.

One moment came into existence; the tastes and smells and regret washed over him. Suddenly, he found the strength to struggle. His mind protested violently and the dream flickered. Then it was back again with such force that it felt like it was being shoved down his throat. But, of course, minds don't have throats and soon Tai was engulfed in the past.

_It smelled like liquor, popcorn, and the intoxicating mixture of freshly cut grass and shampoo. The last was a smell that could only belong to her._

_Tai took a long sip of his margarita as Matt whispered something into Sora's ear and she laughed, a blush rising on her cheeks. He pushed aside the tense feeling of jealousy that rose in his chest and diverted his attention to the loveseat. Mimi was staring at him from behind her row of playing cards. When she lowered them he could see a pout on her lips, her cheeks were rosy and eyes slightly glassy from alcohol. _

"_Poor Tai." Mimi mouthed the words silently and Tai reddened, focusing on the drink in his hand._

"_No cheating, you two!" she scolded aloud, shaking a well-manicured finger at the couple._

_Tai polished his drink off in a heartbeat._

"_Easy, Tai! Remember what happened at my concert last year?" Matt chuckled._

"_I 'member enjoyin' myself quite 'mensly," Tai slurred. It wasn't until he spoke that he realized he was drunk. _

"_Tai, you were so trashed that Matt and I had to carry you home," Sora laughed, shoving him playfully. "At least you're already home this time."_

_The Yagami residence was vacant besides the four teenagers. Tai's parents had gone to visit his dad's mother for the week as her health began to fade, leaving Tai in charge as their "mature seventeen year old" so he and Kari didn't have to be pulled from school. Kari was out with Davis's team at some type of "younger chosen only" campout in the digital world (Tai had only consented after threatening to castrate TK if he tried anything funny). _

_It happened to be the first night of Mimi's surprise visit to Japan. Being all for dramatics ("I wanted it to be a surprise," she had whined), she didn't tell anyone of her arrival until her aunt had picked her up from the airport. Of course, the last minute notice assured that everyone had already made plans, leaving only Matt, Sora, and Tai free._

_Tai nudged Sora back with his shoulder, grinning. "Now you only gotta carry me to bed."_

_Sora smacked him on the back of the head and Tai caught Matt's icy eyes narrow slightly. Tai ignored the look and snuck his hand around Sora's drink, slurping it up until she yanked it from his grasp, rolling her eyes at him._

"_Back to the game… I'm raising," Matt said, throwing two blue chips in the middle of the coffee table. _

"_So… I've got uh… two Jacks, I think. Should I stay in?" Mimi asked, allowing her cards to hang loosely in her hand so that they could all see._

"_Mimi, that's a joker," Sora explained, smiling gently. "That shouldn't even be in the game."_

"_Oh!" Mimi pointed to a card that had been tossed to the side of the table. "I picked it up out of the discard pile!"_

"_We're playing poker, Mimi, not go fish," Matt sighed._

"_And you're not s'posed to show us your cards," Tai added, reaching over the table and pushing her hands to hide her cards from view._

"_Ugh! I don't get it!" Mimi threw the cards on the table. "I suck at this game. Let's do something else."_

_Tai laughed. "Uh oh, Princess Mimi's gettin' riled up."_

_She shot him a glare._

_Matt placed his cards on the table. "Well, I had a three of a kind, but Mimi just voided that round."_

_Tai flicked one of his cards at the blonde, hitting him in the side of the head. "Ah, you always win at poker, stop cryin'."_

_Sora rolled her eyes at the pair and set her cards face down, stretching her arms as she let out a large yawn._

_Tai reached over and grabbed her cards. "What'd you have, Sora?"_

_She instantly tried to take them back. "Don't look!"_

"_Why not?" Tai asked, holding them out of her reach. She stood up to make another grab and Tai jumped on top of the couch, holding them high in the air. "What're you hidin'?"_

"_You didn't pay to see my cards!" Sora whined, standing on the couch and reaching to grab them from Tai's hand. "Give them back!"_

_Tai tried to ignore the smell and sight of her as she bounced in an attempt to steal back her cards, but a blush involuntarily ran across his cheeks. He took a step back to escape the temptations that ran through his mind and suddenly lost his balance._

"_WOAH!" His arms spun in circles and the cards went flying from his grasp as he fell over the back of the couch, landing on his back. _

"_Tai!" Sora leaned over the couch, peering at him in concern._

_He watched her face for a moment, examining the creases caused by her lifted brows, the smooth skin of her cheeks and suddenly he burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of his situation. _

_Sora rolled her eyes. "Stupid Tai… you're lucky you didn't hurt yourself."_

_Tai's laughter only continued._

"_You had a full house?" Matt's voice exclaimed._

_Sora turned to her boyfriend. "You weren't supposed to look!"_

"_You little poker shark."_

_The endearing tone of the blonde's voice halted Tai's laughter and the alcohol that ran through him allowed a pout to form on his lips. He could hear the quiet sound of a kiss and Mimi squealed._

"_Aw, you two are so cute! Stop it, you're making me jealous!"_

"_And me sick," Tai interjected._

"_Sorry," Sora apologized. _

"_We should probably get out of here anyway," Matt said. "It's almost one o'clock. Your mom was expecting you home an hour ago, she'll probably give me a lecture again."_

_Tai laughed again, picturing Mrs. Takenouchi's stern face chewing out Matt. _

"_And I think Tai needs to sleep it off," Matt continued. Tai could hear the smirk in his voice._

"_You want us to walk you to your aunt's, Mimi?" Sora asked._

"_Oh no, I'll call a cab! I should try to sober up a little first anyway."_

_Tai could hear the clinking of glasses and he saw Sora walk by him to bring their dishes to the kitchen sink. Matt followed her, throwing on a light suede jacket and focusing his gaze on the brunette lying on the floor._

"_Damn Tai, how many drinks did you have?"_

_Tai didn't attempt to get up. "A couple."_

_Mimi's face appeared above the back of the couch. "At least four and you stole some of Sora's."_

"_Snitch."_

_She stuck her tongue out at him._

"_Don't pass out on the floor, you know Kari will be worried if she finds you there," Sora said as she slipped on a pink hoodie (a present from Mimi) that had _'I Love New York'_ displayed across the chest. Besides the pink, it reminded Tai of Sora's more tomboyish days and he felt a pang of nostalgia._

"_Okay, okay…" he muttered, waving her off, still unmoving. _

_The couple said their goodbyes and soon the door clicked behind them, leaving Tai and Mimi alone. _

"_Oh, Tai," Mimi cooed. "You still love her…"_

_His face reddened and he turned his head to the side to avoid her gaze. "No I don't."_

"_You're a horrible liar."_

_Tai crossed his arms before letting out a large exasperated sigh._

_Mimi's face disappeared and she came around the couch, sitting beside him on the floor. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "Relationships are hard, you know."_

_Tai's brows furrowed. "Wouldn't know, never been in one, unless you count that one cheerleader…"_

"_Well they are," Mimi continued, cutting him off. "Michael broke up with me again." _

_Tai watched as Mimi's eyes suddenly welled up with tears and he forced himself to sit up. "It's ok, Mimi, there's plen'y o' fish in the sea."_

_She shook her head. "But I only want one fish and he doesn't even care that I'm here."_

_Tai searched his mind and came up empty. "Huh?"_

"_I left Joe three messages and he still hasn't called me back." Bubbly tears began to run down her cheeks, smearing her mascara._

"_He's probably just busy studyin'."_

"_But I haven't been home since last summer! Why wouldn't he take a break to see me?"_

_Tai shrugged. "I dunno Mimi."_

_Honestly, he had no idea why Joe wouldn't call her back. The guy was crazy about her, but Joe was Joe… he probably was just busy studying or something. For a moment Tai thought he should tell Mimi about the older boy's feelings, but he shook the thought from his mind. Joe needed to be the one to do it. _

_Mimi's tears continued and Tai patted her awkwardly on the shoulder. "It's gonna be ok…"_

_His gesture was enough to cause the girl to fling herself into his arms, crying into his chest. "I hate being alooooneee," she wailed. "I miss all of you so much! I wanna come back to Odaiba!"_

_Tai wasn't sure if it was the alcohol, but his face was tingling and hot. Mimi felt small in his arms and he couldn't help but notice certain curves press against him. He smoothed her hair, unsure of what else to do; he was never good at handling crying women. She seemed to calm and after a moment, Tai slowly pried himself away from her and she wiped her tears away, mumbling apologies. _

"_S'ok," he said, wobbling as he stood up. "Ya know what you need?"_

_Mimi shook her head._

"_Another drink." Tai grabbed a bottle of liquor in the kitchen and poured two shots, handing one to her. He sat back down beside her and clinked their glasses together._

_Mimi downed the shot instantly, but her nose wrinkled up as she swallowed. "Icky."_

"_Sorry. Can't 'ford the spensive stuff, Princess."_

_She batted him playfully and though there were mascara stains streaking her cheeks a small smile formed on her face. _

"_I'm gonna make some cookies." _

"_Uh… ok."_

"_Cookies always make me feel better."_

_By the time the two had scrounged up enough ingredients in the Yagami kitchen for cookies, the shots had taken full effect._

"_Hehehehe, yer cookie looks like a blob," Tai slurred as Mimi put the last glob of dough on the baking sheet._

"_That's 'cause s'not cooked yet." She opened the oven door and bent over, sliding the sheet inside. _

_Tai was about to stick his finger in the bowl of raw dough for a taste when Mimi grabbed his wrist, stopping him._

"_That's for the natch bext."_

_He burst out laughing._

"_Next batch! Shuddup, Tai! S'your stupid fault I can't talk." _

_Mimi's face was red and there was a little smudge of flour on her cheek. Tai suddenly couldn't help but notice how attractive she was. The alcohol made him feel completely disconnected from reality and before he knew what he was doing, he bent down and kissed her. _

_To his surprise, he wasn't slapped. Instead, her grip on his wrist loosened, and her fingertips just barely brushed his arm as she allowed him to continue. Her cooperation brought a moment of reality back to Tai and he pulled away._

"_Sorry…" he mumbled, not daring to look her in the eye._

_There weren't any words to answer his apology. Instead, he felt Mimi's fingers trail up his forearm and then gently tug him closer. As Tai looked up, her eyes were glossy and distant and her lips quickly met his in a hungry desperate passion._

_The next moments were a blur. Everything took place through a drunken veil of lust and loneliness. Some moral conscience in the back of Tai's mind shouted at him to stop, but the hazy physical side of him only pressed forward, eating up the feeling of small soft fingers on his chest and the pleasures that shot through him. It made him forget the constant ache of losing Sora or the jealousy that left him guilt-ridden. Suddenly all that mattered was masking the pain. _

_He pressed forward eagerly, sliding his hand under her shirt and then beneath her bra strap. Mimi's small fingers imitated his movements, crawling across his stomach and back. Buttons came undone and articles of clothing were discarded and through the madness they had somehow escaped the kitchen and fell into Tai's bed._

_After some time the smell of burning cookies filled the Yagami apartment and the only two souls left inside didn't care._

The apartment was still filled with the odor of burning sweets and Tai immediately withdrew from his embrace with his sister. He tried to straighten out his face, but by the looks of his companions, they had all figured out the source of the memory. His closed bedroom door burst open and Mimi flew out of the room, her face covered with her hands. Sora went after her.

"So much for your portal theory. We're just going around in circles," Matt commented bitterly as the rest of the group slowly dispersed from Tai's room.

Tai chewed on the inside of his cheek as the blonde passed by him. It took a good deal of self control not to slug him again. After everyone had left but his sister, he fell face first onto his bed, burying his head in a pillow and letting loose a string of curses. After a moment he heard her exit the room, closing the door behind her.

Tai slowly lifted his head from his pillow and sat up, running his hands through his hair and groaning in exasperation. He stood and made his way to the bedroom window, flipping open the blinds. Rain was pouring down, although it hadn't rained that night that he and Mimi… it must be the remnants of Davis's memory.

Just as the thought ran through Tai's mind, the sun broke through the clouds and the rain stopped abruptly and unnaturally, replacing the typhoon-like conditions in seconds.

"What the…?"

Tai quickly bolted to his chest of drawers, pulling one open. Inside, it was stacked with a messy pile of t-shirts as usual.

He burst through his bedroom door and headed into the hallway where most of his team was congregated in the living room. One glance at the mixed expressions of disappointment, anger, and sympathy and whatever thought seemed important to share with them diminished. He grit his teeth and held his ground despite his shame.

Sora's haunting crimson eyes faded in comparison to the light brown ones that met his gaze.

Mimi's were filled with tears.

She held a tray of burnt cookies in her hands.

* * *

This time the trek through the desert was easier with food and water at his disposal. Ken trudged through the endless sand. His blazer was tied around his head to keep the sun from scorching his face. He wasn't sure how far he had traveled, he had left Machinedramon's city over four hours ago.

Both mentally and physically, he was exhausted. He had hardly slept that night, tossing and turning in the mansion where he had first entered this world. Memories and nightmares had kept him in a place between sleep and consciousness and he inevitably began his journey out of the city before daybreak.

These places and things from Ken's past brought back all the darkness he thought he had abandoned. Darkness still lingered behind him, still promised to take its grasp on his soul. As he tried to push the thoughts away, he suddenly felt cooler and noticed that he was in the shade. He looked up, expecting to see a cloud and instead was met with horror.

Above him floated the base of the Digimon Kaiser.

He could only stare, dumbfounded in its massive presence, watching it as if it were a ghost.

Ken wasn't sure how long he stood there when he heard a voice shouting his name. His dark indigo eyes darted up to the small entrance and watched as two figures climbed down the hanging ladder.

Suddenly his heavy heart lifted in his chest, but he couldn't move, unsure if the heat had caused some type of teasing illusion.

"KEN!"

Tears threatened to spill from his eyes at the sound. He attempted to respond, but his throat tightened with emotion and his legs were like jelly beneath him.

Soon a flash of violet hair impaled him with such force that he almost fell backwards.

"I can't believe it's really you!" Yolei sobbed, tears of joy running into his shirt.

Ken still couldn't find any words. He wrapped his arms around the girl tightly, a mixture of shock, joy and relief running through him. He lifted his eyes to greet Davis and where he expected to see an exuberant toothy grin, he saw a scowl.

Davis suddenly seemed to notice his gaze and he quickly replaced his expression with a halfhearted smile. "Man, are we glad to see you again."

Yolei slowly released Ken and removed her glasses to wipe her tears away with the back of her hand.

Davis moved in between them and clapped Ken on the back. "So what happened to the others?"

Ken felt the corners of his mouth fall into a frown. "I don't know. When we found Joe, Mimi and Iori, I thought you'd be with them. I left to find you."

"You've been all by yourself?" Yolei asked.

"I didn't want anyone to have to deal with my memories."

Davis let out an obnoxious laugh. "Ha! Your memory's been the only useful one so far. This thing is awesome!" He gestured to the floating base. "You know, now that you aren't attacking us with it…"

Yolei reached over and pinched Davis on the arm.

"Ow! Damn it, Yolei!"

"Davis, you're such a moron!"

Ken felt a soft smile crawl on his face as his best friends continued to bicker beneath the oppressive shadow of his past.

* * *

The room was silent but for the sound of breaths around him. Izzy smacked his dried lips. It seemed like days since he had last had food or water. Usually Animamon or some unknown source would put food or water to his lips as he hung there helplessly, but there hadn't been sign of the deranged digimon for some time.

Izzy vaguely wondered why he wasn't allowed the use of his hands. Couldn't Animamon just have locked him in a cell rather than chain him to a wall? It would be so much better if he could eat with his own hands rather than be fed by a stranger in the dark. Of course, at this rate, Izzy would have gladly taken any type of sustenance he could get. He felt tears form at the corners of his eyes. Maybe Animamon decided there was no longer a use for him and left him to rot. He would probably die here.

Memories of his parents, his friends, and Tentomon all surfaced to his mind and he swallowed back a dry sob, realizing it was possible he would never see them again.

Were they even looking for him?

Suddenly how he spent his last days at home became Izzy's deepest regret. He had been isolating himself, spending more and more time working on his program, the same one that was now (in a removed sort of way) killing him.

What he wouldn't give now to have spent his last days in sunlight, exploring the digital world with Tentomon or watching Davis and Tai's last soccer game. Even going to that party that Tai had so desperately attempted to convince him to attend would have been better than being alone. At least he could have said goodbye.

The tear of regret slid down his face and hope left him as he succumbed to his fate.

* * *

[**Another author's note** (because I'm unhappy with my writing): This chapter was a pretty tough one to write, yet necessary for the plot. I have to admit, no matter how much I edited it, I was disappointed. Couldn't seem to get my thoughts onto (digital) paper, but I didn't want to keep procrastinating in getting it posted for you all. I have a lot of the next chapter written and hopefully it'll make up for what this lacked. More characters will be involved as well, this one was pretty Tai/Mimi, Ken,Davis,Yolei centric and I really wanted to add my other two scenes so you could see what was going on with the other characters. Ok…. Must stop complaining. Please hang in there for the next one; they can only get better from here!]


	23. Glitch

(Author's note: So sorry for the very lengthy time between chapters. I do have one little excuse... I got appendicitis (it sucked!) a couple weeks ago and had to have surgery to have my appendix removed. Put me out of commission for a little bit (ah, the joy of prescription pain killers), but I'm good and happy to have one less useless organ! Otherwise, life just took over. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and I'll try not to make you all wait so long for the next. Thanks again for your continued support and comments, I feel like I can only improve by your honest opinions and I'm humbled by how many people have been willing to drop a comment. Thank you all!)

**Innocent Games**

**Chapter Twenty-three  
Glitch**

* * *

For him there only existed light and darkness, black and white. There were no colors or shapes, just varying shades of gray.

A loud crash caused his lips to curl into a growl and he stretched a hand to a door, slamming it shut. The room he entered was black and subsequently, the most comforting- completely devoid of light.

Animamon strode through the darkness, pleased at the sounds of his own clawed footsteps as they scraped against the cold flooring. Steady breathing mingled with a struggled gasp as he stepped before his captive. He could hear the figure before him try to make out words, but fail in the attempt.

He held a bottle of water to his captive's lips and forced the liquid down his throat. Some came back up as the boy had a coughing fit, spraying him.

"Izumi-"

"I-if you're tr-" the boy continued to cough violently, "t-trying to kill me, please…" a quiet sob "just do it."

"I don't want to kill you. You're still useful to me." Animamon allowed a cool chuckle to rise from his chest. "Have you learned to control it?"

"I can't!"

Animamon forced a bit of bread to the boy's lips and Izzy only resisted a moment before hungrily devouring it. "The hybrid is perfect, but you must harness its power. You must use your knowledge to meld the soul's thoughts together, to gain control over its madness."

"Y-you split me apart," Izzy's voice was weak again. "How can only part of my soul control the others?"

"You're a chosen, you helped create my world, your most powerful skill is your knowledge…You will find a way."

"You underestimate them!" Izzy choked. "The other souls you used are strong. Why did you do this to us? What could you possibly hope to do by combining so many creatures into one being?"

Animamon raked his clawed fingers against the boy's face. The skin was smooth, with just a little soft stubble that had grown since his capture. "I will create perfection… beasts merged with the souls of digimon and the chosen ones in a world that merges our worlds together. They will be powerful and beautiful."

Another sudden loud bang and the sounds of scuffling drew Animamon's attention from his captive and Izzy yanked his face away from his grip.

"You _must_ control it," he continued after the noises finally died down.

"What is that?"

"None of your concern." Animamon began to move away from the chosen child, heading effortlessly through the darkness toward his exit.

"Please don't leave me here," Izzy begged. "I'll die."

"I will send more food down shortly."

"At least turn on a light. I'm going crazy… these sounds…I haven't seen anything for days."

A rush of mad anger ran through Animamon and he darted around, slamming his long arms on either side of the boy. "Days?" he laughed maniacally. "Be content with the images in your head or they may be all you'll ever see again."

Animamon could sense Izzy stiffen beneath him and he began to finger through the thoughts and memories in his head. "Yes… you've seen much. Days of darkness will not harm you."

He pushed away from his captive and stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind him as he heard a pitiful moan emit from the boy. Animamon had left him too long like this. The boy was losing his resolve, but there were other matters for him to attend to now. There was another loud bang that shook the building. Animamon followed the sounds of scuffles and shouts, his surroundings lightening as his clawed feet climbed a steep staircase.

As daylight met him, Animamon growled. "What's happening?" he asked a creature he heard scrambling on his right.

"They've broken through the outer wall, but we're holding them back, sir."

"The world is not yet complete. Keep them back. They will soon run out of provisions and be forced to retreat."

"Yes, sir!"

Animamon could hear the minion scurry off. Around him there was only light and the sounds of a raging battle. His clawed hand shot out, harnessing the nearest digimon he could sense; a gazimon, not very intelligent, but a useful enough provider of information.

Animamon closed his eyes and searched its mind, saw his foes beyond the wall, heard their battle cries and watched disintegrating bits of data. He could feel the gazimon cringe beneath him as he forced his way into its thoughts and memories – the data of its soul. It was tempting to pull all of the soul into himself, take the images and memories as his own, the feelings of glory and fear, the sight of the powerful destroying the weak, the colors of the battlefield.

The gazimon cried out and struggled desperately beneath his grip. Anguish and horror released from the small creature in a pathetic scream. Animamon only tightened his hold, his clawed fingers digging into its skull, and then the gazimon burst into data which he slowly absorbed.

When Animamon opened his eyes, the world was still a haze of gray.

The only sight he had been given was that which he obtained through other's souls. He had to complete his world, a world made up of the images of memories, one he could populate with the perfect beings he had imagined and live among them as their ruler. In his world, he could see everything.

In the digital world, Animamon was blind.

* * *

The weather commanded his movements as if he were God, yet Taichi Yagami didn't comment on his bizarre power as the group wound its way through the streets of Odaiba.

"I think it's a glitch," Iori had remarked as the sun broke through the typhoon everywhere Tai stepped.

Iori figured that weather patterns hadn't been established in Izzy's program and since the scene of Tai and Davis's memories overlapped, Tai was not just filling in the gaps Davis had left behind, but creating an entirely new environment.

TK smiled as he watched Tai trudge ahead of them, hands in his pockets. The strange circumstance had forced Tai to lead them again. His presence halted the rains, allowing the group to walk through the city without getting soaked. It was as if they were following some type of powerful being (TK pictured a superhero or even briefly thought of Moses parting the Red Sea) as Tai walked towards sheets of rain only for them to dispel before him.

When they first noticed this glitch, Tai had laughed out loud, but he quickly cut his laughter short and his face hardened with determination.

"You guys were right… we're not going to be able to pick the memories we want to relive," he said. "Whoever is doing this to us is powerful. Forget the portal. Right now, the most important thing we can do is find the others."

It was Sora who had suggested Tokyo Tower, the place they were on their way to now. "It'd give us the best vantage point," she explained. Tai had attempted a thankful smile, but she quickly dismissed him.

Just ahead, still shrouded in a sheet of rain, was Rainbow Bridge. They'd have to cross it to get to the mainland.

"TK…" Kari's small voice grabbed his attention from the head of the group. She was rubbing a chill from her arms, and he took it as a cue to wrap his own around her. "Something doesn't feel right."

Tai was taking his first step onto the bridge and the rain began to clear ahead, slowly revealing beams and wires above the walkway.

"What is it?" Iori asked from Kari's other side.

Kari didn't respond, but TK could feel her shaking beneath his hold. He and Iori met glances above her head, both concerned.

"Nothing… I must be imagining it," she finally answered.

TK watched her carefully as they continued onto the bridge, working up its gradual incline. The further they went, the more he felt her using his arm for support rather than warmth. As Tai's presence cleared the rain, Tokyo Bay became visible beneath them and suddenly Kari pulled away from his grasp, letting out a stifled scream.

"Kari!" Tai shouted.

The group stopped, turning to the terrified girl as she fell back against the railing that led to the road, her gaze focused on the water.

"I can't go back there!" she cried out in terror.

Tai came jogging back, unconcerned with pushing through Sora and Mimi to get to his little sister, but TK had instantly moved in his way.

Kari was frozen like a small rabbit facing a predator, waiting to see if it had been noticed, eyes wide with fear.

"Kari, what's–"

"The ocean!"

They all instinctively turned to Tokyo Bay. Normally to the south, the bay continued, lined with cityscape and occasionally (when the weather was clear) Mount Fuji was visible. Now the city had been replaced with dismal gray beachfront, leading to a dark ocean, waters black and endless.

TK turned back to Kari, who had slid to the ground, horror still on her face. He sunk down beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It isn't real; it's just a memory… Kari?"

Her fear-filled eyes finally left the ocean and she fell against him, clutching his shirt.

TK could feel Tai's hovering presence, but he refused to move. For as long as he could remember, Kari had always sought her brother during times of trouble, but there would be a day where Tai wouldn't be there- when he was off at college or had a family of his own to care for. TK wanted to be the one she turned to then, he needed to prove that to her now.

Iori said something about Ken and the group gently discussed the possibility of finding him again while Kari shook in his arms.

"It's ok," TK whispered. "You don't have to go back."

"I can't fight it anymore," she whimpered. "There isn't any light left in me."

TK pulled away to look at her face. "That's not true."

"How can I be light when I've caused so much pain?"

TK sighed. "Forget about that… it doesn't matter anymore. Light isn't your power or something you have to be. It doesn't matter how you feel or what you've done. Don't you remember what Azulongmon said about your crest? 'Light is what gives life to this world.' Light isn't some type of attribute, it's something bigger than that.

"Light chose you, Kari. You've got to stop relying on your own goodness and open up to it again. I think that's why you were given the crest of Light… because you're so willing to allow it to use you. Don't stop that now; don't push it away because you think you aren't good enough."

"I can't even see the light… there's so much darkness…"

As the words of despair trickled from Kari's lips, TK pulled her into his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around her.

"Do you remember what he said about _my_ crest? 'Hope means not to lose the Light even when engulfed by darkness.' I won't let you lose the Light and I'm not going to lose _you_, Kari. No matter how much darkness is around us, I won't let you go."

* * *

The cold, sterile base floated silently above the desert, casting its ominous shadow onto the sands.

Inside the control room, Yolei was fiddling with the surveillance equipment, trying to track down any signs of the others. Occasionally, she would shoot a question at Ken and he would answer kindly, though discomfort was obvious in his voice. She could tell he hated being here.

Davis was pacing in front of the monitors. "How come we can't find anybody? I mean, we found you with this thing, right? Shouldn't they be on here somewhere?"

"I don't know, Davis. This world is unstable. Finding me was probably a stroke of luck. I'm not sure if this equipment has the capability to deal with the inconsistencies here," Ken responded. He was leaning on the chair that Yolei occupied as he looked over her shoulder.

Davis's eyes narrowed at the hand that lingered close to Yolei's hair, but he turned away quickly, arms crossed, muttering something that sounded like, "Equipment capability inconsistencies… why don't you just say it doesn't work?"

"Stop muttering to yourself," Yolei chastised. "All you've done the last hour is complain, it's getting annoying."

"_You_'re getting annoying."

Yolei rolled her eyes at his pathetic comeback. Davis had become increasingly irritable since they had found Ken and she was completely at lost to why. She thought he'd be ecstatic over finding his best friend again. When Davis had spotted Ken's lonely figure on the monitor he seemed happy enough, but every now and then she caught Davis glaring at the taller boy for what seemed to be no reason at all. Did something happen between them when she wasn't looking?

She decided to alleviate the situation by ignoring their young leader.

"Ken, you never told us what happened after you left the others. Did you see anything? I mean, you don't have to talk about the memory part, just where you went. Unless you want to tell us. I can be a pretty good listener… well sometimes anyways; sometimes I just talk too much and don't know when to shut up. My brother hates it when I do that, he always tells me I go on and on until I end up putting my foot in my mouth, but that usually just gets me upset and I just keep on talking until I'm not even saying anything important anymore… which is kinda what I'm doing right now, isn't it? I'm sorry!"

Her face had grown increasingly red as she blabbered on and she heard Davis snort loudly.

As Yolei glared at the younger boy, Ken chuckled softly. "It's ok. After I left the others I was pulled into a memory about the base, but I left it to look for you and Davis on the beach." He continued on about how he followed their tracks into Primary Village and stopped suddenly, his face turning grave.

"What is it?" Davis asked, his irritable expression fading.

Ken looked deep in thought before he finally answered, "Some type of creature's been chasing me."

Yolei and Davis met glances.

Ken watched the exchange warily. "What?"

"When did you see it?" Davis asked quickly.

"Yesterday."

"There's another one." Yolei's voice shook with the declaration.

"Another one?"

"I found this… thing in the forest," Davis explained. "It was dead, but it was huge and really ugly."

"What about its face?"

Davis and Yolei looked at one another again before Davis answered slowly, "It looked human… ish."

Ken paled and Yolei felt her heart race with panic. "One of those things was chasing you?"

"I'm pretty sure it wanted to kill me. It said-"

"It can talk?" Davis interrupted.

Yolei scoffed, "Does that really surprise you?"

"It said... 'you' and pointed at me, then it came after me. I think it knows who I am."

"A chosen?" Davis asked.

Ken shook his head, unsure. "Maybe… but for some reason I got the feeling it knew me as the Kaiser."

A look of shame covered his face and Yolei spoke up, hoping to dispel the guilt from his face. "That's impossible! We're not even in the digital world and I'm pretty sure that thing isn't a digimon. There's no way it'd know who the Kaiser was."

"That doesn't mean it hasn't been told who I am…"

"Well, whatever that thing said or thinks…if it tried to kill you, then it's our enemy," Davis declared, his voice strengthening with the charge of a leader. "If we see it again, we're gonna have to take it out."

"I don't think that's going to be possible without our partners," Ken disagreed. "It's probably better if we avoid confrontation. If there's a way to retreat, we'll need to take it."

Davis looked put out and he folded his arms across his chest. "And if there isn't?"

"We'll all be killed."

There was a moment of silent dread before Davis picked up his single spear, twirling it in his hands. "Heh, we'll see about that."

"Davis, don't do anything stupid," Yolei scolded.

His dark brown eyes took on an entirely different look from before, softening as they watched her. Yolei felt her heart pounding in her chest as a small smile formed on his lips.

"Yeah, yeah… I remember."

Yolei could sense Ken's gaze drift between the two of them and she tore her eyes away from Davis, feeling heat on her cheeks.

Only a moment passed before they were swallowed by darkness.

* * *

Tokyo tower stood tall before them, its red metal beams climbing into the sky to declare its dominance over the cityscape.

Joe stood from where he had been kneeling beside Kari. She still seemed to be fighting off the symptoms of a panic attack, but she had calmed since TK's small speech. Although it was against ethical practice, Joe had given some of his own medication to Kari, hoping it would help her some. He still suffered from anxiety, although he handled stressful situations better than in the past thanks to Gomamon.

The pill had calmed Kari enough to get her to pass by the vision of the dark ocean without another attack, but he wanted to make sure she didn't have any negative side effects.

"You seem to be doing better."

Kari nodded, a small smile of gratefulness on her face. "Thank you, Joe."

TK was sitting beside her on a bench, his fingers intertwined with hers, but before he could also thank Joe, Tai did.

Joe only nodded stiffly in return and, once Kari was ready, he followed the group into the large elevator in Tokyo tower. The space in the elevator was tight and he felt someone small and warm pressed against him. He looked down at Sora and saw that Mimi was on her other side, her long chestnut tresses covering her face from his view. He felt a gentle squeeze on his hand and Sora gave him a small sympathetic smile.

The corner of his mouth turned up gratefully, but he continued to watch Mimi. In all honesty, he wanted to break out of here (due partially to the fact that he was beginning to feel a bit claustrophobic in the crowded elevator) and take Mimi away to a place where they could talk things through alone.

Joe had accepted that he wouldn't be Mimi's first anything a long time ago. She was beautiful, popular, and she had lived on the other side of the world for years now. When she was dating Michael, Joe had just forced himself to be happy for her. Throughout their on and off relationship, Joe became Mimi's crying shoulder, often losing sleep to listen to her weep over long distance phone calls.

The night before Mimi slept with Tai, she had called Joe about their latest breakup. It was the first time Joe cut her short, snapping briefly about needing to study. When she called the next day, he turned his cell on silent and poured himself into his books. He had never been good at fighting, not even for her.

Ironically, Tai had been the one who convinced Joe he needed to fight to win over their distant chosen. Not long after their first adventures in the digital world, Tai had practically beaten the confession of his feelings for Mimi out of him, but it was only this past year that Tai played matchmaker for the two. All this time Joe thought Tai was trying to be a good (albeit pushy) friend. But now that Joe knew the truth, it seemed more likely that Tai was just trying to mend his guilty conscience.

The elevator finally shifted to a stop, its doors sliding open to drop them off at the observatory level. Tai was the first to step out and Joe stumbled after him, thankful to be out of the small confined space. His eyes widened behind his rims as he stepped above a transparent section of the floor where he could see a drop to the ground directly below him. He jumped back onto the normal flooring, trying to still his racing heart.

"Not a fan of heights, huh Joe?" Matt asked, a smirk on his bruised face. His hand was tapping incessantly on the side of his thigh.

Joe shrugged sheepishly. "Not when they sneak up on me."

"Holy shit."

Tai's voice drew their attention to him, where he was leaning against the railing by the window overlooking the city.

"What is it?" TK asked.

The rain had slowly pulled back, clearing everything in Tai's line of vision, but that wasn't the source of his foul language. Pieces of the cityscape were missing; twirling spots of blackness were left in their wake.

"Gaps in his memory," Iori explained. "This is why we shouldn't be here."

"Is this what Ken meant when he said the world was unstable?" Kari asked, sounding short of breath.

Sora leaned against the railing. "So what happens if we enter any of those areas? Will we get pulled into another memory?"

"That would be my guess," Iori answered.

"I don't want any more memories," Mimi cried. "Why can't we just go home? I hate this place!"

Sora moved away from the balcony to comfort the girl while Joe shifted uncomfortably. "Mimi, it's going to be-"

"I don't want to hear things are going to be ok! I wanna go home now!"

"Well we can't," Tai spat. "We're stuck until whoever brought us here decides to let us go. Your whining is only making things worse."

Mimi erupted in angry tears. "Shut up, Tai!"

"_You'_re only making things worse, Tai," Matt commented, fists clenched. "Why can't you ever be sensitive to anyone's feelings?"

Joe could barely hear the blonde and brunette's continued bickering as he watched Mimi wipe the tears from her cheeks.

Then, without warning, the fighting stopped as they were taken by the darkness.

* * *

_The cold tiled floor echoed beneath his feet as he walked down the sterile hallway, his hand clenched tightly in his father's. It was shaking around his as the tall man choked back his emotions. Ken's own small silent sobs drowned out the sounds of the hustle and bustle that surrounded him. He wouldn't forget the smell of the place though – like cleaner and sickness and blood._

_His father knocked softly on a door and it opened, revealing his mother, her face red and makeup washed away from tears. She immediately grabbed Ken up into her arms._

_"Oh, Ken!" she sobbed. Then in a choked voice she spoke to his father, "I don't know if he should see this."_

"_He should be able to say goodbye," his father whispered hoarsely._

_The door was opened wide to reveal white curtains and machinery, a bed and a sunken figure connected to tubes. A nurse was shooting some type of substance into one of them and she smiled gently at the family before leaving them alone._

_The boy in the bed didn't even look like Sam._

_His glasses were missing, a row of stitches ran across his forehead and his closed eyelids were sunken into his skull. His face was bruised and the bit of arm poking from beneath the hospital sheets was just as damaged._

"_No, no, no, no, no, no…" Ken chanted. His words turned to blubbering and his mom clutched onto him tightly._

"_Oh Ken… sweetheart…"_

_His father placed a hand on her shoulder and he looked at Ken, his strong face wet with tears. "Ken… Sam isn't going to be able to come home with us. W-we wanted you to s-" he stopped for a moment, trying to get ahold of himself, "… to say goodbye."_

"_I don't want Sam to disappear!" Ken cried, struggling against his mother's hold._

_She tried to say something in return, but she only wept, clutching him tighter._

_Images of the car and Sam's body flying across the pavement flashed through Ken's mind and he felt as if he could die alongside his brother. This was all his fault. How could he have wished for such a horrible thing?_

_He felt himself being pried from his mother's arms and his father gently led him to Sam's bedside._

_"Sam… Ken's here."_

_Ken watched his silent brother through his sobs. The broken body was distorted through the water in his eyes. What had he done?_

_"S-Sam," he gurgled. "I'm sor-"_

_Suddenly a beeping in the background began to slow and an alarm went off, followed by a loud flat tone._

"_No! Sam! Sam!" Ken's mother howled, flinging herself to Sam's side as the door burst open._

_Mr. Ichijouji released Ken and gently pried his wife away from the bedside as the doctors' attempted to revive his brother. Her screams continued and Ken raced from the room, his guilt, pain, and utter sorrow contorting his body with sobs so powerful they hurt. He collapsed somewhere down the hallway, curling up against the wall._

_He couldn't remember how long he cried there, alone. At some point he pulled his head from his arms to see a stretcher wheel by, carrying a lump covered by white sheets. Then, finally, his small limp body was pulled into his father's arms._

The smells were the same – like death, the cold floor felt just as lonely and horrid as he sunk to the ground, burying his face in his hands as sobs wracked his body.

The guilt hadn't lessened over the years even though he knew his wish hadn't really been the cause of Sam's death. The pain of losing a brother never truly healed. Ken was lost in despair when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Yolei embracing him gently, sunken to the floor beside him. Davis's hand was on his other shoulder, his face serious and sympathetic.

They stayed beside Ken on the ground as he calmed himself, trying to push away the vivid memory of his loss. There was no rush to get moving, no words of consolation, just silent comfort. As the last of his tears faded, Ken was grateful that, this time, someone was there for him.

* * *

_Large stone boulders and plummeting cliffs lined either side of the narrow path he took. The incline was becoming steeper, almost vertical in some places, as he hiked up the mountainside, only stopping to help Gomamon over ledges that the legless, handless digimon couldn't quite manage._

"_You know, you didn't have to come with me."_

"_I told you, I've got business on Infinity Mountain," Gomamon chirped back cheerfully. "Plus, I'm doing it for my own benefit. Your hands come in pretty handy! Ha!"_

_Joe's eyes rolled at the corny joke and quickly returned to the task at hand. They had been in this strange place for over a week now and Joe was beginning to give up hope that anyone was going to find them here. Their group was growing increasingly disgruntled, Tai and Matt were constantly at heads and no one seemed to stay serious long enough to realize how much trouble they were really in._

_As the eldest, Joe felt responsible for the others, but he had no idea how to lead a pack of kids through a dangerous and wild world. He had hardly left Tokyo before going to summer camp! Whenever he expressed caution, the others would blow him off as a coward and he was too indecisive to pick sides when the more charismatic members of their group took charge. His mediation between Matt and Tai had been a disaster._

_Climbing this mountain was the only way he knew how to contribute._

"_You're making that face again," Gomamon sang._

_Joe attempted to unknot his eyebrows. "I can't help it, that's how I look when I'm thinking."_

"_That's how you look when you're worrying. You need to let loose and relax, you'd be amazed at what it'd do for your complexion."_

"_Relax? We're lost and there's a bunch of monsters (no offense) trying to kill us! Black gears are turning good guys into bad guys and I'm at least four days behind on my summer reading! How am I supposed to relax at a time like this?"_

"_Easy! You just take a deep breath," Gomamon's cheeks puffed up as he took a gulp of air, "and chill!"_

"_That is the worst advice I've ever heard."_

"_Not when you're hyperventilating."_

"_I am NOT hyperventilating."_

"_Then why are you breathing so hard?"_

"_Because you're making me angry!"_

"_Why are you angry?"_

"_Because you- because I..." Joe pressed a hand against his forehead and stopped climbing. "I'm responsible for getting us out of here. I'm the oldest… if I don't take this seriously, no one will. We'll never get home, we might not even survive!"_

"_Wow, you're sure trying to hold onto a lotta fishes."_

_Joe removed his hand from his forehead and stared at the seal like monster. "What?"_

"_Fish are slimey and wiggly when you try to hold onto them out of the water. They're kinda useless like that. But if you let them go where they belong, they'll help you when you need them to. Like my marching fishes. You can't hold onto things too tightly, you gotta let go and trust that things'll turn out alright!"_

"_That doesn't make any sense."_

"_Sure it does! You're worrying about things you can't control! Just 'cause you're the oldest doesn't mean you have to be the leader."_

"_I couldn't be the leader even if I wanted to; no one listens to a word I say!"_

"_That's 'cause you take things too seriously. Back at the hot springs you were worried about not having food and then when we find food you're worried about stealing it. You're always upset about something. You gotta lighten up!"_

"_I can't!" Joe's voice had raised an octave and Gomamon's cocky grin fell from his face._

"_Joe…"_

_Joe took a deep breath and pushed his glasses further onto the bridge of his nose. "If I'm not prepared then something bad might happen. I'm the oldest; it's my responsibility to watch out for everyone."_

_Gomamon's normally lighthearted expression was serious. "Is that why you're climbing this mountain?"_

_Joe swallowed heavily and looked up at the steep incline before them. "We should get going. The sun's going to come up soon."_

_Before Gomamon could answer, Joe began moving again, pulling his lean body over rocks and boulders with determination. Gomamon puffed out an exasperated sigh. "Wait for me!"_

_Joe turned around to watch the small monster scramble over the boulders after him and he couldn't help but smile. "You're pretty good at climbing for a seal."_

"_Heh! I'm pretty good at climbing period!" Gomamon stopped as he came to a rock that towered in his path._

_Joe reached down and picked him up. "Not able to _hand_le that one, huh?" he chuckled._

"_There goes that sense of humor again," Gomamon grinned, "…your delivery could use a little work."_

_As they continued their journey, Joe dwelled on their conversation. He realized he was never meant to lead, his anxiety and overcautious nature never had made him very popular, but he was still responsible for their safety. That was why he was doing this… to contribute… to keep them from entering danger, to give them a chance to leave this place._

_Joe grimaced as the trail narrowed. He couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment knowing he would always follow in someone else's footsteps. Even here, far from home and the shadow of his father, he couldn't make his own path._

They were all on the narrow path now. Joe's eyes wandered to its trail along the cliff.

"What the hell just happened?" Matt was by his side, staring at the mountainside that towered above them.

"We shouldn't be here," Iori spoke, his voice strained and serious.

"This is Infinity Mountain!" Tai was ahead of them and he spun around, attempting a goofy grin. "At least we've still got a view."

From their position on the mountain, the entire west side of File Island was visible, from its snowy plains to its sandy shore.

"I mean we shouldn't be in this world," Iori explained. "The instability is getting worse. We jumped into someone else's memory before we reached a gap in the one we were in. That hasn't happened before."

"Did Izzy tell you this might happen?" Sora asked.

Iori shook his head. "I don't think he knew this was possible."

The group silently stared at the scenery as the shadows of trees and rocks below stretched towards them.

"We should get moving. The sun's about to set," Iori commented.

Joe looked at his successor. It was strange to hear him say just a slight variation of the words he spoke to Gomamon all those years ago and it brought back the same rush of feelings. Everyone began to make their way down the path, but Joe waited a moment, staring back up the mountain where his journey had continued back then.

"Joe?" Mimi's voice was small and wavering. Sora was standing behind her in support.

Joe forced a smile at them. "We really should get going. It's a long way to the bottom."

Mimi nodded in defeat and turned to head down the mountainside. Joe could hear her sniffling as he followed behind and he watched her struggle down rocks in her heels, her slim legs wobbling beneath her as she gripped onto the side of the mountain for support. Whenever Sora offered her help, Mimi shook her head in protest.

Mimi had always been stubborn, but Joe had never seen her so determined to do something like this on her own. She had never been the outdoorsy type. She was usually the first to declare she was tired, but here she was stumbling down a mountain in heels, her feet red and swollen.

Mimi spoke in a low voice to Sora and the redhead left her side, leaving her to journey down the mountain alone.

_She's waiting for me… _Joe realized as he watched her continue to struggle over the rough terrain. He looked to the path, feeling guilt flood through him. He had barely spoken to her since he had caught the conversation between her and Tai in the woods. He didn't know what to say.

Suddenly the sound of skidding rocks and a small cry pulled him into action. Within a second he had darted ahead, just barely catching Mimi's arm to keep her from falling to her knees.

"Are you ok?" Joe gulped.

Small tears squeezed from the corner of her eyes. "My ankle…" she whispered.

"Mimi, what happened?" Sora came jogging up to them.

"She tripped," Joe explained, helping Mimi sit on a rock. "Probably twisted her ankle. Go ahead, I'll take care of it."

"Ok," Sora smiled knowingly, "I'll make sure we don't get too far ahead." She motioned for the group to continue.

Joe knelt down and began to unbuckle the strap around Mimi's ankle, feeling heat crawl across his cheeks. "These are horrible shoes for hiking," he said as he pulled off the first heel.

"Joe…"

"But you've never been very practical."

"Joe, please look at me."

Joe rolled his bag off his shoulder and pulled out elastic tape, bandages, and antiseptic before returning his shaking fingers to remove Mimi's other shoe. He couldn't look at her face yet… he was still thinking over what to say to her. He knew that the moment he looked at her his words would come spilling out in a giant mess.

Her small feet were red, swollen and covered with blisters. One ankle was larger than the other, already swelling from her fall. Joe grabbed an antiseptic wipe and unwrapped it.

"This might sting a little."

Mimi sucked in a pained breath as Joe wiped dirt and blood from her feet. She was silent as he slowly bandaged each blister with shaking, but gentle hands. When he was finished he slowly rotated the foot with the swollen ankle and she bit her lip to stifle a cry.

"It's not broken," Joe murmured. "Definitely a sprain, you might have a torn ligament." He began wrapping the ankle tightly with tape. "You're going to need to keep off of it."

"How am I supposed to do that? We have to climb down a mountain!"

Joe cringed at the desperate anger in her voice, but he kept his gaze on her feet. "I'll carry you."

Suddenly, Joe felt a heavy weight knock him onto his back and it took him a moment to realize that Mimi was on top of him, clutching him and burying her face in his chest.

"I love you!"

Joe's heart raced and his entire body was on fire. "M-Mimi…"

"I love you, Joe. I wish it'd been you… I wish it'd only ever been you. Please forgive me!"

Joe slowly wrapped his arms around her and sat up, finally meeting her eyes. His face was red and he pushed up his glasses nervously. "There's nothing to forgive. It's my fault for not telling you sooner… I didn't expect you to wait for me."

"But I should have, I've loved you all this time. I should've waited."

"Why me?"

Mimi's eyebrows lifted in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean… guys like Michael and Tai, w-well they're a lot stronger than I am. They're confident and charismatic, born leaders. I just don't get why you'd choose me…I'm nothing like them."

"That's exactly why I love you."

"Huh?"

"They get too carried away with leading to notice the small things that you do, Joe. You notice when I'm hurt or sad… you care. You were the one who stayed behind with me when I couldn't fight anymore. You've always been there for me. Even when you got annoyed with my whining, you never blew me off."

"That's not true," Joe murmured. "I blew you off the night you were with Tai."

Mimi's cheeks reddened.

"I- I was jealous," he continued. "I couldn't understand why you'd keep going back to Michael when you were always so unhappy with him. I just didn't want to hear about it anymore… but I should've told you how I felt. Maybe then you wouldn't have…"

"I'm sorry."

Joe shook his head. "Stop apologizing."

"Joe…"

"We should get going before we get too far behind." Joe pulled Mimi's petite frame up with him as he stood. When she had her balance he let go and put her heels in his bag, stringing it over his shoulder. Then he pulled her arms around his neck, heaving her onto his back.

"Thank you," she whispered into his ear.

A shiver traveled from Joe's neck through his spine and his ears turned red as her breath blew against strands of his hair.

"I love you too, Mimi."

The arms around his neck squeezed him tightly and her lips pressed against his cheek.

Joe slowly made his way down the path, wheezing slightly from Mimi's weight as he attempted not to tumble headfirst downhill. This wasn't just his path anymore. He'd follow behind the others just like he always did, behind guys like Tai and Michael, but for some reason it didn't seem so bad to be walking in the shadow of their footsteps.

Not now that he had her.

* * *

"This is awesome."

Davis grinned as he watched the rain of his memory disperse before Ken as if he had some superhuman barrier that shielded him from bad weather.

Ken didn't seem as amused. His expression was grim since they left the hospital in Tamachi, but that didn't stop Davis from pressing a hand on his back and moving him in different directions to test out Ken's newfound powers.

"Davis… what are you doing?"

"Testing him out," Davis exclaimed, ignoring Yolei's rolling eyes. "Now wait here."

Davis jumped in front of Ken and directly into the downpour, jogging a bit ahead. He came back a second later, shaking his head like a wet dog.

"You're gonna have to lead us, buddy. My powers are no good here."

"What powers?"

Davis ignored Yolei's remark. "So, got any ideas where we should go?"

Ken shook his head. "New York City connects with Tamachi behind us and if we go east, we'll end up back in Odaiba. I don't know what's west of here... I'm not sure how detailed my memory of that part of Tokyo is."

"Alright, west it is then."

"Do you really want to get sucked into another memory?" Yolei asked.

Ken looked torn.

Davis shrugged. "We've already been everywhere else."

He watched as Ken and Yolei met glances and tried to push aside the bitter feeling that he felt rise in his throat. Finally they both turned to Davis and nodded, conceding to his plan.

Davis and Yolei followed just behind Ken, allowing his presence to dispel the heavy rainfall. Despite the fact that Davis pushed for Ken to lead, he couldn't help but feel a little put out that he had to follow behind his friend. He began using his spear as a walking stick, splashing it purposefully in puddles the rain had left behind.

"Knock it off, you're getting me wet!"

"That's what she said," Davis burst out, snickering.

Yolei smacked the back of his head, hard, and Davis almost fell on his face. "Pervert!"

When Davis had regained his footing he noticed a deep blush had covered Yolei's face and she was avoiding his gaze. Ken was absorbed in his own thoughts, focusing on the city ahead and Davis allowed himself to continue staring at the befuddled girl. She pulled back her hair, adjusted her glasses and finally looked back at him. Davis felt his own cheeks heat up and suddenly Yolei kicked a puddle, soaking his pants.

"You're sick," she grumbled.

Davis laughed. "Didn't think you'd get the joke."

"I have three older siblings, of course I get it."

"This isn't right…" Ken's shaky voice pulled their attention from each other.

Davis looked ahead to see a bridge ahead through the rainfall, jutting out unnaturally over water where water shouldn't have existed in Tokyo. "Woah… is that…?"

"Brooklyn Bridge," Ken answered. "But why is it here?"

"I thought New York was back that way," Davis said, pointing over his shoulder.

"Another glitch," Ken muttered.

"A glitch, huh?" Davis stared at the bridge that towered out of the smaller buildings of Tokyo. "You mean like when Mario gets stuck in a wall or something?"

"This isn't a video game, Davis."

"Actually it is a lot like a video game," Ken said, which caused Davis to beam at Yolei cockily. She rolled her eyes. "Technically, this place was created through a computer program. And it was only a prototype. We're living inside something that hasn't been fully created… or tested. There's really no telling what could happen."

"Could _we_ get stuck in a wall then?"

Ken grimaced. "I sure hope not… but we need to get out of here before things get worse."

The trio turned to the bridge again.

"What do you think is on the other side?" Yolei asked, squinting.

"Only one way to find out," Davis exclaimed. "After you, buddy."

Ken nodded and they began their trek to the icon of American architecture. Once Ken reached the structure the rain had halted completely, leaving the bridge and its other end clearly visible. "It's a jungle."

"A jungle? Is it the digital world?" Yolei wondered.

Davis cupped his hands around his mouth. "Taaaaiiiii!"

Yolei proceeded to smack him. "Do you really want to attract attention? That _thing_ could be near here."

Davis rubbed his head and pouted. "I got excited."

As they took their first steps onto the bridge, Davis took the lead beneath the clear sky, twirling his spear like a baton. He felt a battle of emotions charging through him, something between delight and nerves, similar to the feeling he would get right before a big soccer match. It was possible they would meet up with the others again, after all they had found Ken… and that meant seeing Kari again. Davis wasn't sure what to think... these past few days felt like an eternity, but the way he had treated her when they last spoke haunted him.

Davis's dark eyes wandered to the view over the bridge and he jogged to the edge, carelessly bending his torso over the ledge to get a better look.

Below him Tokyo was drowning. The city didn't stop where the bridge started; instead the tall buildings only became submerged in water, as if the geography of New York and Tokyo had overlapped.

"Hey guys, check this out, this is insane!"

Davis turned around, his tan face beaming in amazement, only for his expression to fall.

Yolei was walking only inches away from Ken, her face flushed as he said something to her that Davis couldn't hear. It took them a moment before Ken finally responded to his call.

"What is it?"

Davis roughly pushed himself away from the ledge. "Nothing."

He could barely hear their exclamations of astonishment as he continued ahead and he ignored Ken's look of concern when they caught up with him. A new battle of feelings began. The tension had returned in his chest and a wave of guilt flooded him as he finally recognized the source.

* * *

The bread was stale and probably moldy, but it tasted like life as Izzy slowly swallowed it and drank water greedily as it was offered by his silent host.

"Who are you?" he choked out to the giver when he had finished gulping it down. "Why are you working for him?"

An annoyed snort was the only sound that met him.

"Please, let me go."

Again nothing and Izzy became desperate. "I'm one of the chosen children! The others are searching for me. If you don't let me go, they'll kill you! It's in your best interest to release me. I'll tell them you aided in my escape and you'll be spared."

Another sound, like a scoff, emitted from whoever gave him bread. There were footsteps and a closing door, leaving Izzy alone.

He listened carefully to the strange steady breathing around him. Not knowing its source terrified him. This time, as Izzy slipped out of consciousness and into the other part of his soul, he did so willingly.

At least the tortured creature was free.


	24. Shadows

**Innocent Games**

(Author's note: This will be the last chapter I will get out before the new year, so Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year to all! Thank you all for your continued support and patience. I just want to say that this is what I would like to call the climax of the story. 7-8 chapters more to go after this. I will say nothing more. Enjoy!)

**Chapter Twenty-Four  
****Shadows**

* * *

Shadows fell across Matt's face as the sun fell, easing the pain in his head. He was perched on a boulder that overlooked the vast expanse of File Island. The sun glittered against the landscape as it hid itself in the horizon. Matt rubbed the bridge of his nose, wincing at the tenderness – it was probably broken. It had been a long time since he and Tai had come to blows, but he had to admit the brunette still packed quite a punch.

Nausea swam through his insides and Matt covered his face with his hand, bouncing his crossed leg incessantly. Nicotine withdrawal sucked. It was amazing how quickly he had become used to the calming effects of tobacco. He remembered the taste of rolling smoke against his tongue and the relaxing sensation that flowed from his lungs into his bloodstream as he sucked down a cigarette in record time. He wanted it, needed it more than anything now.

Something cool and soft touched his knee and Matt lifted his head to see Sora, who quickly retracted her hand and looked away as if ashamed of her action. She sat down beside him.

"You look horrible," she mumbled to the empty air.

Matt only stared in disbelief, waiting for her to continue, trying to calm the pulsing in his chest. He looked for Tai, and saw that he was a distance away, beating his legs against the side of the mountain and watching the sunset. TK and Iori were talking while Kari sat between them and her brother.

"I feel horrible," Matt finally answered, turning back to her.

Without looking at him, she held out a bottle of water and he took it, careful not to graze his fingertips against hers.

"Sora…"

"Drink."

He obeyed and studied her as he finished, taking in the way the last rays of sunlight reflected the red in her hair. "I miss you." The words tumbled into the air, somersaulting in the silence.

Sora finally turned to him, her face flushed. "Please don't say that."

"Why?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were ok…" She moved to stand.

"Do you love him?"

Sora paused and her eyes flickered to Tai while Matt held his breath. "I've always loved him."

Nausea pressed against the back of his throat.

"But not the way you're thinking," she continued, chewing on the nail of her index finger. "He's my best friend."

"Am I your friend?"

The finger fell from Sora's mouth and she looked speechless.

"Mimi said you didn't feel like you were yourself around me… that I made you nervous."

"Mimi's got a big mouth."

"Sora…"

"Of course you're my friend."

"But you're still nervous around me?"

Sora's body seemed to tremble and Matt noticed he had leaned closer to her as he spoke. He reluctantly pulled away and she relaxed.

"Is that why you broke up with me?"

She was silent. Matt's hand had involuntarily rested on hers, but this time he didn't pull away.

"I want you to be _you_, Sora. I love _you_. I love everything about you. I don't care about what happened with Tai… just tell me what you want me to do…" Matt's voice cracked slightly as everything he held back spilled forth. He had tried so hard to act nonchalant, to act as if her leaving him hadn't broken him apart, but in reality she had become such a part of him that he couldn't bear being without her.

Sora had only made him better, her support and understanding had gotten him through moments in his life that he struggled with; he had grown closer to his mother because of her, he had pursued music because of her encouragement, he opened up to her in a way that was different than with everyone else. Images of her hands against his face, the feel of the soft bare skin of her thighs under his fingertips and the sound of gentle honest words of love went flying through his mind and he could barely stand not touching her again.

Sora bit her lip and looked again to Tai. This time the brunette was watching them, but the pain on his face didn't allow for anger to surface in Matt's thoughts. Tai had always loved Sora… and how could Matt blame him? Sora _was_ love.

"I don't know what I want…" she whispered as she turned away from both of them.

The sound of scuffling rocks pulled everyone's attention to the path behind them and Joe appeared, carrying Mimi on his back, his face bright red.

Sora took it as an opportunity to escape and she stood up abruptly to check on the girl, but Tai beat her to the punch.

"You ok, Mimi?" His voice had that nervous lilt it got when he attempted to sound at ease, but failed.

"It's just a sprain," Joe spoke for her.

Tai quickly shut his mouth and pushed himself from the ground, dusting off his pants.

"Is there a good place to make camp tonight?" Iori asked. "It'll be dark in an hour."

"There's some level ground closer to the bottom of the mountain. We'll just try to make it there before dark," Tai said.

"Can you two make it that far?" Matt asked Joe.

Joe attempted to hide the struggle that was apparent on his face. "We'll manage."

"Sora and I can help too," Kari offered.

"I'll take care of her," Joe stated, determined.

As they continued their journey down the mountainside, Matt tried to ignore the nausea and pounding in his head. Just ahead, he watched Sora offer to carry Mimi's bag and he wondered if nicotine was really what he was suffering withdrawal from.

* * *

A sprinkling of sun filtered through the dense canopy, causing a glare in the corner of Yolei's glasses. She lifted a hand to her forehead in an attempt to block the rays. The sun was low now, beaming in from her left.

"It's getting dark," Ken's voice stated softly.

Yolei lowered her hand and shrugged her sweater over her shoulders. "And cold… a fire would be nice."

Davis kept marching ahead of them. "You all sound like a bunch of babies. If we're ever going to find Tai and the others, we gotta keep moving."

"What makes you think they're anywhere near here?" Yolei asked.

She watched Davis shrug his shoulders and lift up his spear, spinning it until it reverted to a walking stick. After a moment, she realized that was the only answer she was going to get.

"Well I'm tired and cold and hungry and I vote for setting up camp!"

"Huh, well I don't."

"I agree with Yolei."

Davis turned around and looked as if he was about to begin a tirade.

"Sorry, Davis," Ken said while Davis huffed and turned back around, "but it'll be dark soon. It's better to set up camp while we still have light so we're more aware of our surroundings."

"Fine," Davis grumbled. "Dinner first and then the fire… and I get first dibs, I'm starving."

It wasn't long before they found a clearing and discarded their scanty supplies on the forest floor. Yolei sat on a rock and looked down at her feet which were poorly clad in overly large flip flops. Her toenail polish had chipped and her feet were brown with dirt. She'd give anything for a hot bath and a pair of slippers.

"Aw, man… I thought we still had some ramen in here."

Davis was haphazardly tossing food from a bag onto the ground while Ken attempted to organize the mess he made.

"I thought you hated instant ramen."

Davis halted his hunt. "I do, but I needed something more substantial than fruit, my stomach is killing me." He slapped his belly for emphasis.

"I wouldn't call ramen substantial," Ken said as he dusted off an apple, the corner of his mouth tilting into a smile.

Davis sighed. "Ugh… what I wouldn't give for some of your mom's yakisoba right now."

"Or her tempura," Ken added.

"Or her cookies."

"Also not substantial."

"I'm still surprised Davis knows that word."

"Shut up, Yolei."

"I'm so glad I found you," Ken murmured suddenly.

Yolei turned to him, ignoring Davis as he pulled down his lower eyelid and blew a raspberry at her. Ken's long hair had created a barrier over his face.

Davis seemed to sense the sincerity in his friend's voice and removed his finger from his eyelid. "We're glad you found us too, buddy."

"I have a message for you," Ken lifted his head as he looked to Davis, "from Kari."

Davis visibly stiffened, but played it off by picking up a bag of chips from the ground and pulling it open. He shoved a handful into his mouth and waited for Ken to continue.

"She told me to tell you that she's sorry for hurting you…"

As Ken trailed off, Davis swallowed and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Spit it out, dude."

"She and TK are back together."

Davis shoveled in another mouthful of chips.

Yolei watched as he chewed in slow silence. "Davis…"

"Good."

Ken and Yolei exchanged glances of disbelief and turned back to their young leader in shock.

"What? She's happy, right?"

"Uh…"

"She's not happy?"

"Well, she's worried about you."

Davis let out a forced, bitter laugh. "Yeah right."

"That's not fair, Davis. You know Kari cares about you," Yolei scolded.

He devoured another ridiculously large handful of chips, but as he continued his obnoxious munching, Yolei watched the anger melt from his face. "You're right," he swallowed, "that's just Kari… that's how she's always been, she can't be happy unless everyone else is."

Ken nodded in agreement. "She's really beating herself up over the whole thing."

"Aw, damn it," Davis groaned. "I'm such an asshole…"

"_She_ kissed you," Yolei blurted.

A half-hearted grin formed on his face. "Yeah, she did." He chuckled and continued eating.

Yolei and Ken joined him, each grabbing snacks and fruit from the pile. Davis grabbed himself a few more items and leaned against the back of a tree, watching the canopy above and occasionally popping more food into his mouth.

"I can't tell if he's serious," Yolei whispered to Ken.

"He is," Ken turned from Davis to look at her, "They'll be ok. Davis isn't one to hold a grudge, especially not with her."

"Just 'cause I can't hear what you're sayin' doesn't mean I can't hear you two whispering."

Yolei blushed. "I'm surprised you can hear anything over your chewing."

Ken stood up, pulling on his blazer. "I'll be back in a minute."

"Have a nice piss."

As Ken disappeared into the forest, Yolei narrowed her eyes at Davis. "What is wrong with you?"

"What?"

"Why are you being such a jerk?"

Davis sat up straight. "Huh?"

"Ever since we found Ken you've been all moody. Did you guys get in a fight or something?"

Color instantly flushed on Davis's tan cheeks. "No."

"Then what's the problem?"

Davis crossed his legs and leaned forward, messing with a stick on the ground. "Nothing."

"That's not fair."

He paused. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I told you what was wrong when I was upset. Now it's your turn."

"Ha!" Davis scoffed, drawing a line in the dirt with his stick. "I had to listen to you cry for days before you 'fessed up."

Yolei reddened. "I was embarrassed…but I felt better after I told you."

Davis's attention to his drawing became more intense and he mumbled something under his breath that Yolei couldn't hear.

"What?"

"So am I," he muttered quickly.

Yolei thought back to the mental breakdown she had experienced, how she felt so stupid to be so worked up by feeling unwanted and unneeded, but when Davis had forced out her reluctant confession, he had held her. He was there when no one else was.

"Davis… you can talk to me," she said, echoing what he had said to her then.

"Not really."

For some reason, the words felt like a stab to her heart. "So you don't trust me? I'm supposed to confess my stupid embarrassing stuff to you, but I'm not good enough for you to confess to me?"

"This is totally different."

"How?"

He didn't answer her. Instead, he ground his teeth and the pink on his cheeks darkened to a deep red. "It just is."

"How?"

"Damn it, Yolei, leave me alone."

"Does it have something to do with Kari?"

"No!" Davis finally looked up from his drawing. "She isn't the only thing I think about, you know."

Yolei studied him for a moment and his dark eyes pulled away from her. "Then why are you being like this?"

Davis resumed fiddling with the stick and Yolei was about to lose her cool when he let out an exasperated sigh. "It's just…" He bit his lip and ran a hand through his wild hair, attempting to hide his embarrassment.

Yolei suddenly found herself unable to breathe as she waited for him to continue.

"It's just," he fumbled again as the blush on his face crawled up to his ears, "…because I…"

A rustle in the bushes pulled their attention to the forest and Ken appeared back in the small clearing. "This is definitely the best place to camp," he said. "It looks like the jungle only becomes denser further ahead."

Davis's face wrinkled in frustration and he jumped to his feet, grabbed his spear and took off where Ken had appeared from, not saying a word as he quickly disappeared into the forest.

Ken's eyes widened with surprise as he watched Davis retreat. He turned to Yolei. "Is everything ok?"

Yolei swallowed, attempting to calm herself, but as she looked into Ken's kind and haunted gaze her heart only continued to pound erratically.

"I don't know."

* * *

He could feel the earth sink beneath its feet as it took its first steps into the thick foliage. Branches and thick digital leaves swept against its face as it moved and he could feel the scratches they left in its loose skin.

The souls protested. Some of their thoughts were anguish, wishing for death, unable to take the pain. Others were rage, pulsating with a need for vengeance. The silent ones were simply apathetic, succumbing to their fate.

Izzy was hollow, a vacant shell inside a crowded vessel. He attempted to keep the emotions of the other souls at bay, disconnecting himself from them the only way he knew how. He observed everything as if he was watching a video, ignoring the pain and bouts of insanity that attempted to worm into his soul. He couldn't distract himself by thinking of something else, memories and thoughts only served in further irritating the body of souls and they only reminded Izzy of what he counted as lost. It was best to forget.

A distant sound caught the attention of the creature and it leapt in a new direction. A million speculations circulated and Izzy attempted not to contribute to the chaos, but he feared what it would find.

Branches ripped through the tender skin of its body as it haphazardly darted in and out of trees, shaking and bending them as it pushed forward in desperate insane anger. The thoughts and emotions screamed all at once, driving it into further agony.

Then the movement abruptly stopped and voices in the distance forced Izzy to react.

As soon as the moment of panic hit, Izzy found his eyes opening to the darkness. The pain from whipping branches was gone from his face and a weak hunger had set in. He was back in his body.

"No!" he shouted. "Don't!"

He attempted to find the part of himself that existed elsewhere, attempted to connect with the pain and insanity, but he found himself dominated. Some force inside the creature was keeping him out.

"He's not who you think he is!"

Izzy's shouts were lost as they echoed in his black surroundings. A sob of despair left him as the voices the creature heard replayed in his head.

His friends were about to die.

* * *

"Is this even possible?"

Iori turned from the large building to Sora, who had voiced the disbelief. He searched his mind for some story that could explain the shock on the original chosen children's faces. A castle-like hotel in the middle of the forest wasn't really that strange when it came to the digital world.

"Is it still an illusion?" Joe asked, breathless as he helped Mimi down from his back.

"I don't care," Mimi balanced on one foot as she clutched Joe's sleeve, "All I want right now is a hot bath, I'm going in!"

She attempted to drag Joe along with her as she hobbled toward the massive wooden doors.

"I'm glad you remembered it before Devimon showed up." Tai trotted beside them, but Joe only nodded curtly in response as he helped Mimi along. "Maybe the food'll be real this time!"

So that's where they were. Iori remembered the story of Devimon's first appearance and his ability to create this grand illusion. He observed the building carefully as the group began to head inside. The setting sun beamed in from the side, causing its massive shadow to crawl along the ground toward the forest. There was something foreboding about this place, as if the darkness of the past was living within its walls. In many ways this was where it all began for them; this is where Iori's predecessor's first encountered their destiny.

"TK?"

Iori's attention was pulled to where Matt had spoken from. The eldest blonde was standing between the columns of the entryway, his brows creased with concern. Iori turned around to look at his DNA partner.

There were certain things about TK Iori thought he would never understand. While they both shared the same desire for justice, TK's feelings were much more personal. Over time, Iori had come to recognize it as a righteous anger, but it still made him uncomfortable.

A hint of it flashed in TK's bright eyes now as he stared at the building before them. The tenseness in his jaw loosened as Kari grabbed his hand.

"Sorry," TK smiled and waved apologetically to his brother, "Daydreaming."

The pair began to walk inside and Iori found himself gazing again at the hotel amidst the trees.

It was the beginning of hard choices; it was a place that, although he had not been chosen at the time, affected his entire life. It was where evil first showed its face.

"You coming, Iori?"

TK was waiting for him in the doorway as Matt and Kari continued inside. When Iori had caught up to him, he slung an arm around his shoulders. "You look worried."

Iori blushed. "I was just thinking about how… this is where it all began for you."

"Hm," TK mused, pulling his arm from Iori's shoulders to rub his chin, "I guess that's true. I mean, we were already dealing with rogue digimon and black gears, but this was where we first had to deal with someone truly evil."

"Does it ever bother you?"

"Does what bother me?"

"Killing Devimon..."

TK looked startled by the question and his face turned gravely serious. "No," his eyes wandered to the forest, avoiding Iori's gaze. "If Angemon hadn't killed him, we all would've died. The only thing that bothers me is that Angemon had to sacrifice himself to do it. He died protecting me."

Iori nodded.

Hiroki Hida also died protecting someone, by sacrificing himself the same way Angemon had sacrificed himself for TK. But unlike Angemon, Iori's father hadn't died for _him_…hadn't died in front of him. And also unlike Angemon, Hiroki Hida would never come back to life. Iori would never have to lose his father again.

TK turned back to Iori, smiling gently. "Iori, you did the right thing back then… when you allowed Shakkoumon to kill MarineDevimon. If you hadn't, the fight would have continued and all those people in the hospital would've died."

"But," Iori clenched his fists, "my father said there is no honor in killing someone. He was a policeman for ten years and he never took a life. There had to be another way."

"Sometimes there isn't…sometimes you'll do anything to protect the ones you love."

Iori was silent. He knew that TK was right about one thing, the people in that hospital would have died if Shakkoumon didn't deal the final blow, as would the children with dark spores if they hadn't finished off MaloMyotismon.

"Come on, let's go see if there's something to eat. The food tasted real enough last time," TK grinned.

Iori followed him into the large foyer and their footsteps echoed on the marble floor. He knew there was a real possibility that they would have to fight again in order to save Izzy and escape this place. He wondered what sacrifices they would have to make. As he watched TK's eyes flicker to a painting of an angel on the wall, he realized that the thing he understood least about his DNA partner was how well he could hide the turmoil he still harbored inside.

* * *

The jungle was silent but for a light breeze and the rustling of leaves. The sun had almost completely disappeared in the horizon, just barely lighting their surroundings. Shadows of trees stretched eerily across their campsite, as if they were reaching for the darkness.

"What's taking him so long?"

Ken turned from the shadows to Yolei who was hugging her cardigan around her tightly in an attempt to keep out the cold.

"Maybe he's getting firewood."

Yolei didn't look convinced. "He went off to go pout about something… he's such a baby sometimes." Although her voice was annoyed, Ken knew better. She was definitely worried. "Davis! Stop screwing around and come back here!"

Ken waited and her shouts went unanswered.

"Ugh! I swear he's doing this just to piss me off."

"Did you two get in a fight?"

Yolei looked surprised. "Uh... no, we didn't actually."

Ken watched as a blush crawled across her cheeks and she looked away, pulling off her glasses with the pretense of cleaning them. Mimi's comment suddenly burst in the forefront of Ken's mind.

_Am I the only one who thinks they'd make a cute couple?_

Davis had never expressed interest in anyone but Kari, but he had been friends with Yolei for a long time. Despite their constant bickering, it was obvious that they cared about each other. Ken watched Yolei as she cleaned her lenses again, though they looked smudge free, and the red slowly subsided from her face.

"He just won't tell me what's going on at all. He's so stubborn."

"Has he been like this the whole time you've been together?"

Yolei shook her head and returned her glasses to her face. "No… I mean, he's been a pain, but just usual Davis… well, for the most part I guess… He's still pretty hung up on Kari."

Ken could sense there was more hidden in Yolei's pauses, but he didn't press. "He seems upset with me." He folded his hands together, leaning his elbows on knees.

"Oh, I'm sure it's just Davis being Davis," Yolei urged. She stood and walked to where he was sitting on a fallen tree, taking a seat beside him. "He'll be over whatever it is in no time."

Ken felt the heat of her body against his side, despite the fact they weren't touching.

"I mean, that boy's mood swings are worse than my pregnant sister's. Except without the crying… so far anyway." A stiff nervous laugh escaped Yolei's lips.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Ken felt a hand against his forearm.

"Don't worry, Ken. You're his best friend, he'll come around."

Ken's palms had grown sweaty and he could feel his heart attempting to pound its way through his ribcage. He swallowed heavily, but before he could even begin to think of words to say there was the sound of shifting foliage behind them.

They both stood up quickly and Ken's heart began beating for an entirely different reason, worried that Davis had returned at the wrong moment. Suddenly all of Davis's behavior seemed to make sense. There was more that had happened between him and Yolei these past few days than either of them let on. The snappiness and the rude outbursts were all telltale signs of classic Motomiya jealousy.

Worries of troubles in love and friendship were quickly dispelled as Yolei let out a horrified scream.

Ken stumbled backwards as the face of loose twisted human skin peered down at them from the treetops. The creature's massive body stumbled unnaturally into the clearing, its long arms jerking at its sides. Its pallid complexion was littered with decay, but the creature seemed to pay the poor condition of its body no mind. Its black eyes observed them closely and Ken was frozen by its gaze.

"Y-y-y-" The mixture of pained voices stuck in its throat and this time it didn't just sound, but also looked as if it might vomit.

Yolei screamed again as it leaned closer to him. "Ken!"

At the sound of her voice the creature swung its head in her direction. Its naked torso stretched across its ribs, revealing each bone as it protruded through its thin skin.

Ken's entire body was shaking and frozen, but when the creature directed its attention to Yolei he finally found a voice. "Run!"

The call came too late.

Skin covered reptilian like feet leapt forward and the creature's long arm had swung toward Yolei, throwing her violently. Her body skid against the ground like a stone skipping across water. For a moment she didn't make a noise and then a choking cough and a shriek muffled by a sob of pain tore through Ken's ears.

"Yolei!"

His shout was echoed and Ken found himself in a daze as Davis came bursting out of the forest. For a second Davis stopped in his tracks, staring up at the monstrosity with wide eyes.

Another terrified and pained sob came from Yolei as she pushed herself from the ground.

"Move!" shouted Davis as the creature hovered above them, its arm reaching for the crumpled girl. "Damn it, Yolei, move!"

Just as the blow came down, Davis flew between her and the creature, his spear pointed at the enormous hand that crashed on top of him.

"Davis!" Yolei shrieked.

The creature let out a horrifying howl and the hand lifted, revealing Davis unharmed and a spear that disappeared halfway into the creature's palm.

"Ha ha! Take that, you big overgrown freak!" Davis pulled on the spear and blood sprayed from the creature's wound as it came loose, splattering across his face and arms. "Ugh!"

Ken searched for anything that could be used as a weapon, his mind racing, at lost as what to do without Wormmon, without something to control this thing. All the power he had once held over the strongest digimon was lost to him now. There was no technology to ensnare it, no brilliant plan surfacing to his mind that would bend it to his will.

The monster's sickening cries continued to fill the forest as it cradled its hand and Davis hovered over Yolei protectively, spear at the ready. "Go!" he demanded, looking at her over his shoulder. "Get out of here!"

Yolei struggled to stand. "Davis! Watch out!"

Davis turned around just in time to be caught in the large swinging hand of the creature. His spear was crushed between his body and the creature's tight hold as he was lifted into the air. "Shit!"

Hot breath rushed from its mouth, flowing over Davis's squirming form. Terror was apparent on his face as he watched the creature's black eyes move over him.

"Let him go!" Ken shouted desperately. "It's me you want, isn't it? Take me and leave them alone!"

The creature's long neck lowered its head to Ken's level. Its skin dangled from its skull, sliding against the muscle and bone that should have held it in place. Ken trembled in its stare, unable to bring his gaze away. Somewhere deep inside the hatred in its eyes, pain and sorrow attempted to swim to the surface. Ken felt sick to his stomach.

A pained yell and the sound of a sharp crack like breaking bone tore Ken away from the trance. Davis cried out a curse before his words were overtaken by screams. The creature was crushing him.

"STOP! Please stop!" Yolei shrieked.

The loose lips of the creature turned upward in some type of sick imitation of a smile before it lifted its head back up to where it held Davis. Then, before Ken could do anything to stop it, the creature slung its arm in a quick snap, releasing their leader into the air.

Davis hit the tree headfirst and fell two stories to the forest floor below, landing on his side with a sickening thud. After a moment of deathly stillness, his body began writhing against the ground.

The final blow didn't come. The creature's human-like face twisted, loose skin falling further from its jaw and it turned from the fallen prey. Ken could only watch in shock as its eyes glanced over them. Its arm joints twisted unnaturally and it fell to the ground as if on four legs. Then, turning around, it disappeared into the brush, leaving behind its purposeless destruction.

With tears pouring from her eyes, Yolei jumped to her feet and ran to Davis's side. He was coughing violently and gasping for air. She dropped to her knees beside him and gently pulled on his shoulder.

"Oh God!" she sobbed.

Ken broke from his shock and sprinted after her. When he reached them, he instantly covered his mouth with his hand.

Davis's left shoulder had been completely dislocated, causing his arm to hang at a sickening angle. The same wrist was broken, revealing splintered bone and his hand dangled by sinew and skin. Blood was pouring from a wound on his head and part of his scalp and hair hung loosely from his collision with the tree; his face was already bruising from the impact. He choked and small bits of blood burst from his mouth.

Yolei clung to his uninjured arm, which jerked beneath her hands unnaturally. "Davis, breathe! Please!"

His eyes were wide, staring past her. Like a deer in headlights, nothing could pull his gaze from the unknown hurtling towards him. The strangled coughing ceased. His body went rigid and his good hand clutched the earth in desperation. There was a sharp sucking noise as he struggled for a last gasp of air. Then his face slowly relaxed. His wide eyes became unfocused and his lids fell against them heavily, like a child fighting off sleep. Blood bubbled from inside his throat and poured over his lips, covering his chin.

"No…" Ken choked.

"Davis, you're going to be ok! Ken, help us!" Yolei wailed desperately, tears pouring from her frantic eyes.

"He- he's gone, Yolei."

She turned to him in disbelief. "No! No, he's not!"

Davis's body shuddered beneath her grip and a horrible noise escaped him. Yolei turned back to the mangled boy and pressed her hand against his face. His blood smeared beneath her fingers.

"Davis," she whispered, her words barely audible through choking sobs, "please fight."

The fearful wide-eyed gaze into a world unseen had left him. Lifeless eyes stared from beneath his partly open lids. The frantic attempts at breath had ceased. His lips were parted, but his chest remained motionless.

Ken dropped to his knees and moved his shaking hands to Davis's neck, feeling for a pulse. He waited for what felt like an eternity and then his tears began to spill freely. "He's gone."

Yolei collapsed against Davis's chest, bawling against the fabric of his shirt. Unintelligible pleas and promises escaped her lips: things she would have never muttered in his presence before, things she had never admitted to herself.

Ken could never remember seeing him so still. Even in his sleep, Davis would move. His feet would kick as he tossed and turned or his mouth would mumble incoherently. He was completely silent now. Not even the rare sound of peaceful breathing emitted from his lips. His chest was quiet and unmoving beneath Yolei as she continued sobbing out her pleas.

Ken buried his face in his hands, attempting to block out the words that should have only been shared between them. Minutes passed and the grief became consuming, their mourning the only sound in the silent world around them.

Then Davis's right arm jerked, his fingers twitching slightly.

Yolei sat backwards, her cries cutting short as her eyes darted wide open, searching Davis's half-opened lids. "Ken, he's still alive!"

Ken looked up from his grief, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. Against his better judgment, he felt his heart beat faster with hope. He pressed his fingers against Davis's neck once again. After some time had passed, he placed his cheek above the fallen boy's open mouth. All was still. Glossy eyes stared back at him. "He's not breathing… he doesn't have a pulse," he mumbled.

"He moved!" Yolei cried, grabbing the fingers that had twitched just a moment before. "Davis! Hold on!"

"It's just muscle spasms," Ken murmured. "Sometimes-" he swallowed the lump in his throat, "Sometimes bodies do that."

"We haven't even tried CPR! He might still be ok!" Her voice was hysterical.

Ken looked at his best friend's face. Half of it was unrecognizable beneath the blood and bruising. The fracture in his skull had most likely pierced his brain. The trauma to the rest of his body didn't even need to be considered. Even if it was possible to save his life, he would never be ok. His eyes were fixed in that half-opened unseeing state. Ken's silent tears burst into a gut-wrenching sob and he reached out for Yolei, pulling her tightly into his arms. "He's dead, Yolei!"

She tried to pull away. "Let go! We have to help him!"

Ken's grip on her only tightened and his body shook against her as he let go of his emotions completely. Her hand still held onto Davis's lifeless fingers. Ken buried his face into her shoulder and the fingers slipped so easily from her grasp, falling heavily to the ground, still.

He was gone.

* * *

Steam rose all around, thick and heavy in the air, wrapping around her body, suffocating her.

"There's nothing better than a hot bath," Mimi moaned, lifting her bare leg into the air to massage away the dirt.

Kari stood up abruptly, her heart pounding. "Something's wrong."

Sora, who had been rinsing her hair, halted. "What is it?"

There was no explanation for the feeling that overwhelmed her body. It was suffering, pain, despair, like something dear had been ripped from inside of her, leaving her hollow. "I- it's nothing."

"Kari," Sora stood as Kari began to dry herself off with a towel. "You just said something was wrong."

"I did?" Kari asked, feigning confusion. "Oh… I just feel a little dizzy, it's probably all the steam. I think I'm going to go to bed."

Sora's auburn eyes watched Kari skeptically as she stepped out of the large bath and threw on a bathrobe. "I'll go with you."

"No," Kari smiled. "It's ok. I already feel better. I think the bath is just too hot for me."

Before Sora could say anything further, Kari escaped the baths and stepped out into the hallway, rubbing her wet hair dry with a towel. Then, in attempt to still her beating heart, she leaned heavily against the wall, taking deep breaths.

"Kari?"

For some reason, she almost burst into tears at the sound of TK's soft voice. He read the pain on her face and was beside her in an instant. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know… I just feel sick." Even though she was avoiding his gaze, she noticed the heavy blush that covered his cheeks as he averted his eyes from her body.

"Are you going to be ok?"

Kari nodded, forcing herself to smile. "I'll be fine; I think the bath was just too hot."

"Kari…" The tone of his voice told her he wasn't buying it. "Is it the ocean? We're far away from that now. I won't let anything hurt you."

"No," she murmured. "I just have a bad feeling…"

"What kind of feeling?"

"More than darkness… pain, loss, suffering, it was awful… I don't know what it is." She took a deep breath and attempted to change the subject. "Why are you out here?"

TK sighed, realizing that she wasn't going to explain things further and he pulled the strings of his robe tighter. "Tai's attempting to talk things out with Matt and Joe… and failing miserably. It was getting pretty awkward. Iori stayed to make sure they don't fight and I thought I heard someone out here."

"Poor Tai."

"Hey," TK soothed, a warm smile on his face. "Everything's going to be fine. They'll work things out."

"What if everything isn't fine?"

TK's calm smile sunk into a straight line. "What do you mean?"

"What if we can't ever leave this place?"

His warm hand, still clammy from the bath, gently grabbed her shoulder, just barely grazing the skin her robe exposed as it slipped loose. Kari caught it and pulled it back up, her face burning as TK's fingers trailed to the back of her neck and he leaned down, pressing his forehead against hers.

"We will get out of here, Kari. I promise."

The determination radiated in his blue eyes and their past together seemed to flash before her, how he had always fought until the end, even when he was scared, even when there seemed like there was nothing left, he held onto hope.

As she met his lips his comfort enveloped her, kept her safe from her dreams and doubt, but the pit in her soul remained, mourning the loss of the unknown.

* * *

They didn't sleep that night.

For a long time the two sat side by side, watching him. Yolei would take hold of Davis's hand every time his body twitched, erupting into a new fit of tears.

Eventually the body stopped giving her hope. His fingers grew cold and stiff and the color drained from his face. She asked Ken to close Davis's eyes, but they had waited too long. The lids were frozen and unyielding, the eyes sunken in. He only had the heart to try once. She burst into sobs and held onto Ken until he dragged himself away to gather firewood.

When he returned, he found her wiping the blood from Davis's face with her sweater. She was shivering uncontrollably and a mass of silent, tearless sobs had retaken her. For the first time Ken noticed that the blood covering her wasn't only from Davis. When the creature threw her to the ground, its claws cut a deep gash that ran from the middle of her chest to her collarbone.

Ken shrugged off his jacket and threw it around her shoulders. She barely noticed the gesture as she wet her sweater's sleeve with water from her bottle. She continued to gently clean Davis's face.

Ken kneeled beside her. "I…" he stuttered, looking abashed. "Davis has a lighter."

She didn't respond.

Ken gently reached into the dead boy's pocket and pulled out his lighter, muttering apologies to deaf ears. Yolei glanced at him for a moment before continuing her work.

It only took a few minutes to get the fire started. Ken settled down beside Yolei, rubbing the chill from his arms. "You're hurt," he whispered, glancing at the gash on her chest. The top of her shirt was covered in dried blood and the wound looked raw and filthy.

She looked up at him. Her eyes were disconnected, trapped in a world of despair. "He saved me," she choked.

Ken didn't want to think about that right now. "I need to take care of your wound. Can I do that?"

She looked back down at Davis's limp form, nodding her head weakly.

Ken grabbed what little supplies he had and settled back down beside her. His hands trembled as he pushed her long hair and the tattered edge of her shirt away from the gash. It was deep and ragged, more than an inch beneath the skin and at least eight inches long. Luckily the bleeding had stopped on its own. Ken unscrewed the cap to his water bottle.

"Yolei, can you…" he paused, humiliated. "Can you take off your shirt? I don't want it to get wet," he explained.

Yolei nodded again, slowly. She shrugged off Ken's jacket, turning her torso away from Davis, almost as if she was ashamed to reveal herself to his lifeless eyes. Ken averted his gaze until she was finished. When he turned, her eyes had returned to the corpse. Her shirt was clenched in her fist and she had thrown his jacket back onto her shoulders.

The silky blue bra that held her breasts was tarnished with blood. Ken had imagined seeing her like this, but the circumstances of his daydreams had been drastically different. Her wound was so encompassing that neither bashfulness nor desire had a place in his mind. He ripped away a portion of the sleeve from his dress shirt.

"This might sting a little," he murmured. He poured water into the gash and began dabbing it with the torn material. She continued to stare at the body in front of her, but Ken could see her wincing in the firelight as he wiped away the dirt and dried blood. As the extent of the wound became clearer, he could tell she badly needed stitches. The moisture had caused it to bleed again.

"I wish Joe was here," Ken cringed as he wiped away a small pebble that was caught in her flesh. "I might be able to patch you up better if I had some supplies." He continued to clean out her wound the best he could, holding his breath every time she winced. She was silent despite the pain he caused. He'd give almost anything to have her yell at him or even cry again. This strong silent endurance only echoed the tragedy. He could read her thoughts through the determined grief on her face - the pain was nothing compared to losing Davis.

The water only intensified her shivering. After Ken had cleaned out as much dirt and debris as he could, he looked around for anything he could use for a bandage. It was too risky to use something from the forest. He wasn't sure the plants were equivalent to the ones on earth and the last thing he wanted to do was put poison into an open wound. After some internal deliberation, he began to unbutton his shirt.

Yolei turned to him. "Ken," she choked out, "you can't do that… you'll freeze."

He ignored her and folded the shirt around her chest, wrapping it around her twice and tying the torn sleeves together. He apologized as she grimaced from the pressure. As she waited and watched him, small tears squeezed from the corner of her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Ken apologized.

She wiped her eyes and pulled off his jacket, handing it back to him. He held onto it as she pulled her shirt over the makeshift bandage he had made her. When he tried to give her the jacket back, she shook her head vehemently. "I'll be ok," she said, turning back to the body.

After a few minutes, Yolei could no longer hide her intense shivering. Ken suggested they move closer to the fire. She hesitantly left Davis's side, but the fire didn't keep her from shaking. Ken draped her damp sweater, stained with Davis's blood, over a branch to dry. When he returned, he sat beside her and allowed his gaze to become consumed by the flames and the dark shadows they cast.

The night seemed to last forever and the brisk air became more frigid. Over time, Ken found that Yolei had moved against him for warmth. He cautiously draped his arm and as much of his coat as he could around her. He looked into her eyes, worried he would make her uncomfortable, before he pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms tightly around her. His bare chest was hot against her arms and her shivering subsided some.

Under different circumstances, they had both dreamed of this. Movies and romance novels throw mourning friends directly into passionate tearful lovemaking, but this was necessity and their grief was consuming. In reality there is no romance in death.

Davis's body grew colder as the night dragged on.


	25. Apologies

**Innocent Games**

**(Author's note: **Thank you all for your amazing reviews for last chapter. For those of you who are curious what the creature looks like, my awesome husband agreed to sketch it for me. He's a fabulous artist. You can find the sketch at my tumblr blog here: http:/tanyatakaishi. tumblr. com/post/16198728286. I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it. Love to hear from you all!)

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Five  
Apologies**

* * *

Her skin was smooth beneath his clammy palm, sticking as he ran it against her collarbone, but the passion of her kisses distracted him from being self conscious. As their lips melded together and her tongue slid gently against his, he felt things he knew he shouldn't encourage - not here in this place or now while they were so young.

Something seemed to drive them closer as he hovered over her small body, which lied so delicately beneath him on the bed. His arms were shaking from holding himself up to keep from crushing her, but his whole body shook with exhilaration, wondering how it would feel to know her completely.

But that wasn't what kept him going. It wasn't lust that kept his fingers trailing her skin, his mouth tasting hers. There was something foreboding in the back of his mind, an ominous cloud that threatened everything good. Feeling the heat of her body close to his kept it at bay, subdued the dread.

As her hand slipped beneath his robe, pulling it from his shoulder so most of his chest was exposed, he realized she had been doing the same thing. No… if he was honest with himself, he knew that she had been doing this all along, masking the dread with the feel of him. The same thing he was doing with her.

He pulled away.

"Kari..."

Her eyes opened, distant and clouded.

TK felt ashamed. "We shouldn't be doing this."

She reached a hand behind his neck and tried to pull him back to her lips, but he held his shaking arms steady, trying to push away the electricity he felt sparking in the gap between them.

Despair filled her eyes in the guise of tears. "Please," she whispered.

TK lowered himself, grazing his body against hers. It took all his self-control to kiss her gently and push himself up again. "One day, when we're ready. When it's not like this… not here."

A drop slid from the corner of her eye and down her cheek, leaving a water mark on the pillow her silky hair was splayed against. "Don't you love me?"

TK felt a sharp stab of shock enter him like a knife and his mind flashed to their conversation in the Yagami bathroom.

"_Davis is passionate and reckless and he doesn't care about the consequences, but I want that with you, TK! I want you to lose your self control. I want you to love me like that!"_

"This isn't going to prove that," TK finally said, swallowing the bitterness he felt rise in the back of his throat. "I love you, Kari… but we're better than this."

The cloud of dread lurked in the background of TK's mind, reminding him of the unresolved issues that still lingered between them and Davis, of the underlying tension in their group, of the constant pang of anger and pain that TK had felt since they had come to this place. This hotel brought back memories he still struggled to forget. He remembered how horrified he had been when Devimon first revealed himself. It was worse than a scary story or the monster under his bed… it was real. Devimon wanted him dead. When the others were beaten, when all was lost, the only thing that saved TK was Patamon's sacrifice. He remembered how at that moment, when he watched Angemon's data disintegrate, he thought he had lost his best friend forever. It had all started here under this roof, in these beds.

Kari searched him and he saw recognition fill her eyes. Her distant tear-filled gaze broke into a gut-wrenching cry. She wrapped her small arms around him and pulled him so tightly that he collapsed against her. "I'm so sorry," she sobbed beneath his weight, "I just want to feel anything but this pain."

"I know," TK kissed her forehead, "…I know."

Their next kiss was chaste, so much more like the Kari he had always known, innocent and sweet. Despite her tears and the darkness that hovered around them, TK smiled.

He barely had time to turn as a loud scuffle reached his ears. Before he knew what was happening, he heard someone shout, "TAI!" and he felt the back of his robe being pulled so violently that it threw him to the ground. TK scrambled to his feet and saw Kari pulling up her robe to cover an exposed shoulder.

"Let me go so I can kill him!"

TK turned to Tai who was struggling to escape Matt's hold.

"That's exactly why I'm not letting go," Matt huffed, straining to keep the brunette under control, "Calm down, Tai, I'm sure it isn't what it looked like."

"Tai, look, we were just-" TK choked, his face red as he attempted to come up with some type of explanation to explain to his girlfriend's brother why they were in bed together with nothing on but bathrobes. His eyes passed briefly over Iori and Joe, who both looked ready to help Matt restrain the irate Yagami and TK kept stuttering in embarrassment, realizing it had been _exactly _what it looked like. "We were… I'm-"

"-going to die!"

"Tai, stop it!" Kari screamed. Her pained voice caused her brother to falter and they all watched as she stood beside TK.

Sora suddenly appeared behind Iori and Joe, helping along a limping Mimi. "What's going- oh…" Sora cut herself short as she surveyed the scene.

"There's something wrong," Kari said, ignoring the girls' appearances and wiping tears from her eyes.

"You're damn right there is!" Tai shouted, although it was obvious that his initial ferocity had died down.

"Something bad has happened," she took a deep shaky breath, "Something terrible."

"What is it?" Mimi asked.

Kari's eyes welled up with fresh tears and TK wanted desperately to take hold of her hand, but he didn't dare move as Tai's eyes continued to bore into him.

"I-"

Tai's attention moved to his sister as her words bubbled into a soft sob. He attempted to take a step forward, but Matt's hand still had a firm grip on his shoulder. He shrugged it off. "Kari…"

She fell into her brother's arms and he smoothed her hair as she continued. "I could feel everything, the sadness and suffering… there's so much pain…"

Tai swallowed. "Is it Izzy?"

Kari shook her head, burying her face in his chest. "I don't know."

There were a few whispers among their group, but the words were lost to TK as he watched Kari continue to sob in her brother's arms. Tai began whispering reassurances and his eyes lifted from his sister's shaking frame to meet TK's gaze.

"Tai… I'm sorry."

There was a brief flash of emotion on Tai's face before he led his sister to bed. TK watched them from a distance, mortified and ashamed. Matt patted his shoulder gently, but the comfort fell short.

TK suddenly understood Tai's own situation just a little bit better than before.

* * *

The wind whipped the flames higher and they crawled into the wood, licking it up, crackling and feeding on the funeral pyre.

Silent tears trailed paths down Yolei's cheeks, but as the fire reached Davis's body, her sobs returned alongside the smell of burning flesh. Ken stood quietly beside her, his hands trembling around Davis's digivice and D-terminal as he stared into the ever growing flames.

Soon they hid his body from their view, greedily devouring the empty shell of their friend.

It seemed as if hours passed while they stood in attendance of their lonely memorial service.

Davis had deserved so much more than this... than burning in a forest of another world with no one but her and Ken to mourn him. He deserved a hero's funeral, he deserved to have his family and all his friends there to say goodbye. He didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve to die.

When the flames had all but died away, Yolei continued to watch, staring at the burning embers and ash from a seat on the ground, hugging her knees to her chest. Ken had walked away for a moment, trying to hide his soft hiccupping cries, but he returned to her side now, having regained his composure. He sat in the dirt beside her.

"Yolei… we have to go…"

She turned to Ken, really looking at him for the first time since they had parted from their embrace that morning. Her lips shook as the words struggled their way out of her scratchy throat. "W-we can't leave him."

Ken bit his lip and his face wrinkled as he struggled to keep reign over his emotions. "He's gone and that thing's still out there. It's not safe here."

Yolei turned back to the embers. "He- he can't be gone. He can't."

Ken didn't respond, instead he slowly stood and began to pack their supplies.

Small lumps were visible in what was left of the pyre. Yolei took in a deep shaking breath as she stared at the remains.

A choking whisper tumbled from her lips. "You promised…"

The memory tore through her and suddenly all the new feelings, all the red faces, the laughter, tears, disappointment and butterflies knocked down the wall of denial Yolei had built for herself. She had slowly been falling for Davis… maybe even before they were brought to this horrible place. His passion and courage, his confident grin and obnoxious persistence, even their fights were something she knew she couldn't live without. He had always been there. He had always been her companion, her partner in hyperactive cheerfulness and impatient anger, her comrade in battle, her strength in weakness, her friend through the loneliness and in his last moments, her savior.

Yolei slipped her hand beneath her glasses and let them fall to the ground as she covered her eyes and slid her fingers into her hair, grabbing it in anguish. Messy gushing sobs rattled her frame.

It was only a moment before Ken returned to her side and gathered her into his arms. She clutched onto his jacket, loosing tears onto the bare skin of his chest and she could feel wetness on her shoulder where his own fell.

"I'm so sorry," Ken cried miserably. "It's my fault. I led that thing here. I- I killed him!"

Yolei swallowed back her sobs and gripped Ken tightly, wordlessly denying his guilt. He squeezed her back and then, shaking his head, he pulled away and ran his hands over his face. His shoulders shook heavily and she could hear him attempt to control his shattered breaths as he wept. When he finally uncovered his eyes he had clenched his jaw. He found her glasses and handed them back to her.

"H-how's your wound?"

Yolei wiped her eyes and returned the glasses to her face. The grief had been so consuming that she had barely noticed the deep cut on her chest, but Ken's question brought her awareness back to its presence. It was tender, sending searing pain through her when she moved the wrong way, and so warm it was almost hot.

"It hurts," she murmured.

Concern replaced the grief on Ken's face and he stood before offering his hand to help her up. Yolei took it and then watched as Ken began to quickly grab up the supplies he had gathered.

"We have to get out of here."

This time Yolei didn't argue, she even took the small bag that Ken allowed her to carry, but her eyes had again drifted to where Davis's body once lay. After Ken had collected the spear that Davis had so fearlessly gouged into the creature's palm, he joined her in staring at their friend's ashes and bones.

"Goodbye, Davis," Ken whispered.

He gently grabbed Yolei's hand and they stared as the wind twirled the ashes amongst the embers and tossed them gallantly into the sky.

* * *

A ray of sunlight peeked through the window shades and shot into her eyelids, beckoning her to life.

Mimi sat up and rubbed her eyes, letting out a quiet yawn. On the bed beside her Sora was still sleeping and she could hear deep peaceful breathing from the others. It must have still been early, but nature called her as much as the sunlight and Mimi stood, quietly limping from her bed to the hallway in search of the restroom.

She stretched and tousled her hair, attempting to straighten it out after a restless sleep. Her finger became caught in a tangle and she pulled the offending strands in front of her face, attempting to undo the knot. Once she had been successful and moved the hair from her line of vision, she came to a halt.

Tai was standing in the hallway, arms crossed and leaning against the banister as he gazed blankly to the floor below.

Mimi's face reddened and she attempted to turn back, but the flooring creaked beneath her bare foot. She cursed silently as Tai straightened and turned to her. His bruised face looked haggard and tired. It looked like he hadn't slept at all. Mimi felt her heart go out to him, despite how angry she still was.

"Hey Mimi…"

She stood silently, unsure how to respond. Through their mistake she and Tai had developed a bond, a sort of understanding of one another, but they never spoke of what happened that night. Their relationship mostly consisted of teasing each other about their hopeless love lives, outings with their digimon, or scheming ways to get Joe to notice her. Now that the reality of what they had done had been brought to the surface, she felt like things could never go back to how they were before.

"Everyone still asleep?"

Mimi nodded slowly, inwardly cursing herself for not noticing Tai's absence from the bodies she had passed.

"You know, I talked to Joe last night… before the whole TK/Kari incident," his jaw tightened at the mention of the blonde and his sister, but he quickly continued, "I think he's still pretty pissed off, but at least now I know why he hit me," he chuckled a little at this, "I didn't think Joe had it in him, even if he was jealous."

Mimi narrowed her eyes and Tai swallowed heavily before continuing.

"It was because I said it didn't mean anything," he explained. "He said he hit me because it _didn't_ mean anything. If I actually loved you, he would've just given up."

Mimi suddenly felt her knees go weak and her injured ankle gave out so that she had to steady herself against the banister.

"I- I'm sorry, Mimi," his dark brows furrowed, "I should have never used you like that."

"Why didn't you tell me about Joe?"

"I-"

"I'm not angry about you using me, Tai," the red on her face deepened, "I did the same thing to you, but how could you do it when you knew how Joe felt about me? Why did you let me think he didn't care? Why didn't you say anything?"

Tai turned away from her, once again staring at the empty space beyond the banister.

"I did want to tell you at first, before we…" his cheeks took on a faint blush, "but I thought Joe should do it. Then the alcohol…" he trailed off and his face stiffened, accentuating his cheek bones. "It was because I was selfish. I wanted to feel something… anything but what I felt then. I felt like I'd lost my courage… not just with Sora, but with everything. With the digital world safe, there wasn't anything to distract me, no way for me to prove to myself that I still had it. All I could think about was how scared I had been to tell Sora how I felt, how scared I was of losing her… losing Matt if I ever admitted that I was still in love with her after all this time. I've been pretending so long that it didn't bother me, but I hated myself for the jealousy … I didn't even feel like we were all friends anymore."

He glanced at her and a half-hearted smile crawled across his face. "I was also really _really_ drunk… and you're beautiful, Mimi."

Mimi shifted uncomfortably, taking all the weight off her sprained ankle. But before she could react to his confession, Tai let out an overdramatic sigh and hung half his body over the banister, head upside down, arms flopping ridiculously to his sides.

"I just ended up making things even worse… now everyone hates me."

Mimi remembered beating Tai with her fists, screaming out her hatred for him. At the time, seeing Joe's reaction to the truth, hearing that Tai had known all along about Joe's feelings and yet still slept with her, made her anger feel justified. Now, as she watched the guilt slowly feed on his conscience, she felt horrible for being so harsh with him. It had been as much of her mistake as it had been his.

"I… I don't hate you."

The look he gave her was between shock and skepticism.

"And I'm sure Joe doesn't either. Or Matt and Sora."

Tai closed his eyes and groaned.

"And for being the 'mature' one of the group," Mimi used air quotes with the hand that wasn't holding her steady, "Sora can get pretty ridiculous when it comes to you. Izzy told me all about the hair clip incident. Remember that?"

A genuine smile slowly formed on Tai's lips and he lifted himself up from the banister. Then he grinned, that lopsided goofy grin that was so part of his character, the one that had been missing from his face these past few days.

"Thanks Mimi."

She felt a mixture of sad and happy tears sting her eyes. "I'm sorry too, Tai," she blubbered.

Tai took a step closer to her and looked a little awkward for a moment. Mimi realized he was debating with himself whether or not to hug her. She sniffed back the tears and stuck out her hand.

He grabbed it and they shook, both giggling oddly. It felt good, to have everything out in the open, to forgive and be forgiven.

The handshake concluded rather awkwardly and Mimi pushed her hair behind her shoulder. "Bathroom's that way, right?"

Tai nodded. "Yeah, watch out for Ogremon."

Mimi rolled her eyes playfully and began to limp down the hallway. She barely made it two feet before she stumbled and lost her balance. Before she could grab the wall for support, Tai's strong hand had caught her arm.

"Balance isn't your strong suit, is it?"

She glared at him, but he only grinned and stuck out his arm.

"Allow me, Princess."

It was slow going as she hobbled along, using the crook of Tai's arm for support.

"Don't be too hard on TK…"

Mimi could feel Tai's bicep tighten and his mouth had become a straight line.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to kill him… I'm just going to severely disable him when Kari isn't looking."

"Tai, he loves her."

"That's fine. I'm just going to make sure he keeps his love in his pants. What do you think I can use to castrate him? I think there's a good sized butcher knife in the kitchen."

Mimi pinched his arm.

"Ow! Fine, geez!" he pouted. "Can't I at least threaten it? It's a pretty big knife…"

"I'm sure after last night you don't need to threaten him at all. He looked humiliated."

"Humiliated? What he needs is a good healthy dose of fear."

"Tai, this is TK we're talking about…our little baby TK, TK who thinks of you as his second big brother, TK who could barely bring himself to even admit he liked your sister, let alone actually sleep with her. They were just making out."

"Naked."

"With bathrobes."

"Naked in bathrobes." Tai suddenly looked disgusted. "Ugh! The image is going to haunt me forever! Wait here, Mimi, I actually _do_ need to kill him."

Mimi didn't let go of Tai's arm as he attempted to storm back and he groaned loudly in protest.

"You'll get over it," she concluded.

"No, I won't."

"You will."

"My baby sister!"

"Has a lot on her mind… I'm sure she just wanted to be happy for a moment. You know how that feels, right?"

Tai stumbled and as his cheeks flushed, Mimi felt her own face grow hot. She quickly changed the subject. "What do you think Kari meant last night... when she said something horrible happened?"

"I wish I knew. I wish I knew anything actually. Like how to beat this thing, how to get out of here, where Izzy is… if he's still-"

Both of their faces grew solemn and they stopped, having reached the bathroom.

"Izzy's going to be fine," Mimi declared. She thought of the redhead and how lost they all were without him, without his guidance and knowledge. She was sure if he was with them, they'd have found some way out of this place by now. She imagined Izzy there, typing furiously away on his laptop, maybe figuring out how to fix their digivices, or coming up with some program that could open up a portal. She loved to tease him when he was focused on fixing things. She remembered how irritated he'd become when she was interrupting his work, although he'd eventually give in and pay attention to her, sometimes even willingly.

"I miss him." Tai's face was strained.

Mimi gave his arm a gentle squeeze.

"Me too."

* * *

A warm breeze brought the smell of nature with it, whipping from the woods and through the hotel porch, circling him as he stepped out onto its steps. The sun was bright and the ominous shadows that were cast last night were gone.

Joe sneezed.

"Bless you." Matt was sitting on the last step, elbows on his knees.

Joe sniffed and readjusted his glasses. "Allergies."

Matt snorted, but a light smirk formed on his lips. Joe noticed that he was chewing on a toothpick… or what was left of one. The small piece of wood was frayed and tattered, soaking with saliva.

"Still having trouble with the withdrawal?"

Matt shrugged, pulling the toothpick from his mouth. "More or less."

"Thanks for agreeing to stay here," Joe murmured, sitting down beside the blonde. "I know you didn't want to."

"Whatever. It's not like we've accomplished anything by searching anyway. We could all use a break."

During breakfast, Tai had suggested that they stay put for now. Mimi could barely walk and the hotel had provisions and shelter they may not be able to find elsewhere. It was best to recoup and try to come up with a new plan. Joe could tell by an exchange between Matt and TK that they'd prefer to keep moving, but they had decided not to argue. Joe had thought it'd be the other way around. Normally Tai couldn't stand staying still while Matt wanted to take his time to strategize, but a lot of things had changed within their group lately.

"Mimi should be able to walk in a few days."

Matt nodded. His knee was bouncing at an abnormal speed and he stuck the toothpick back in his mouth, subduing it.

The door behind them burst open and TK walked out, his facial expression a strange cross between depressed and panicked.

"Kari won't talk to me and I'm pretty sure Tai is planning my death," he moaned, plopping on the other side of Joe.

"She's probably trying to protect you," Joe reasoned. "If she's with Tai, it's harder for him to kill you. He won't want to make her upset."

"Well she wasn't with him when I left, she was with the girls. I tried to talk to her, but she won't even look at me."

Joe wasn't sure how to answer that and he looked to Matt who had once again pulled the toothpick from his mouth.

"You know," Matt said thoughtfully, "If you and Kari get married someday, Tai's going to be a part of your family. Think about what you're getting into."

Matt's voice had taken on a humorous tone that TK apparently didn't find amusing. "Technically he'd be part of _our _family."

"I have no obligation to deal with _your_ in-laws."

"You and Tai are practically brothers anyway."

The amusement on Matt's face faded. His eyebrows creased and the toothpick returned between his teeth. TK looked as if he wished he could retract his words, but he only began chewing on his bottom lip.

Another breeze blew around the trio, scattering the scents of the forest among them. Joe felt something tickle his nose and he sneezed again. This time no one blessed him.

"Have either of you seen Iori?" asked Joe after a moment of silence. "I wanted to ask him a question about Izzy's program, but I haven't seen him since breakfast."

"Actually, now that you mention it, I haven't either," TK replied. "Or Tai, for that matter."

It was as if Tai had been waiting to make his grand entrance. He and Iori appeared from the depths of the forest, each brandishing large sticks or possibly small tree limbs.

"Hey!" he greeted, grinning mischievously.

Joe felt the corners of his mouth turn down even though he tried to keep his face straight. His conversation with Tai last night had been painful. Oddly, it wasn't the thought of him and Mimi sleeping together or the mental images of Tai kissing her and touching her that really hurt. It was the betrayal that stung. He couldn't understand how Tai could follow through with sleeping with Mimi when he knew that they had feelings for each other. It almost would've been excusable if Tai had feelings for her. Somehow that it had meant nothing only made Joe angrier. The thought that anyone could sleep with Mimi and it mean nothing was just… wrong. She was worth so much more than that.

Joe's eyebrows had creased and his glasses slipped down his nose, making him realize that he had turned from Tai to stare at his hands.

"Cod—Iori was teaching me kendo," Tai's voice, chipper and nonchalant rang. "Anyone want to try it out?"

"No sparring," Iori added. "At least not until you get the basics down."

"I'll try," TK spoke up first. Joe and Matt both turned to him in shock, but the young blonde's face remained firm, determined to win back Tai's good graces.

Tai's expression turned smug. "You sure we can't spar yet, Iori?"

"No."

Tai threw one of his sticks to TK, probably harder than need be and turned to Matt and Joe. "How 'bout you two?"

The old Tai was back, fearless and unashamed, but as Joe shook his head no and Matt verbally declined, Joe thought he saw a flash of pain flicker in Tai's dark eyes. When he pushed his glasses back to the bridge of his nose, it had disappeared and Tai shrugged.

"Suit yourselves." He took off, jogging a bit in front of the hotel, dropping his extra sticks and twirling the one he had chosen in the air. "Iori, I think I'm getting the hang of my ashi-sabaki. So, when do I get to swing this thing?"

"Your footwork is still awful, you need to keep practicing," Iori called to him.

"Do you think this is some kind of trick?" TK asked warily as Tai swung the stick threateningly in the air, tongue sticking out in concentration.

"I think he's genuinely trying to make amends," Iori replied quietly. "But don't let him convince you to spar with him… I don't think he'd hold back much."

TK grimaced, but he still slowly followed Iori into the clearing to join Tai.

Joe watched them in silence. They practiced footwork, TK's shoulders were tense and Tai attempted to look intimidating, but Iori's constant berating soon had them both focused on kendo alone. The steps were repetitive: two steps forward two steps back, no dragging of the feet, heels just slightly elevated, intense focus.

After some time, Iori finally announced that they had a good handle on the first basic step and were ready to move on to the second phase of footwork.

"More footwork?" Tai groaned.

"Footwork is the most important part of kendo."

"But I wanna swing the stick."

"For our purposes it's a shinai, not a stick. And you will after we practice this next step."

Another groan from Tai forced a chuckle from TK. Tai pointed the stick at him, smirking, only to be scolded by Iori. The two became focused again, watching as the younger boy demonstrated the next round of footwork.

"How long do you think it'll take Iori to lose his patience with him?" asked Matt, who was still chewing vigorously on the demolished toothpick.

"Iori's a pretty patient kid. I don't think he'll let Tai get to him."

Behind them the door swung open. Joe turned around to see Sora helping along a hobbling Mimi, Kari just behind them.

"Hey," Sora greeted politely as Joe stood to take Mimi's arm from her.

Mimi trailed her fingertips on Joe's arm until they reached his hand and she interlaced her fingers with his, squeezing him gently. The smile on her face was genuine and Joe felt the wrinkles in his forehead smooth as he returned it.

"Is Iori teaching them kendo?" Sora asked.

"Yeah," Matt answered. "It's pretty entertaining to watch."

"Tai hasn't tried hitting TK has he?" Kari's voice was concerned and embarrassed.

"Not yet."

The girls joined them on the steps to watch the kendo lesson. The new group of spectators grabbed Tai's attention and Iori chastised him, telling him to remain focused.

"The girls are watching," Tai said loudly enough for them all to hear. "C'mon, Iori, have a heart and let us swing the sticks. We've got spectators to impress."

It was a lighthearted joke, but Joe felt something inside him twist. From the corner of his eye he saw Sora's cheeks tinged with pink. Matt had noticed too and he stood up without a word, returning inside.

The kendo lesson halted for a moment as Tai watched the scene. Iori belted out a command, snapping him back into practice, but it was obvious that Tai had become distracted. TK, too, was fumbling his steps, glancing at the door his brother had disappeared behind.

Sora looked torn between staying put and going after the blonde, but in the end she stayed. Everyone kept watching the lesson, trying to ignore the tension. Joe noticed Sora reach over with her foot to kick the toothpick Matt had been chewing into the dirt with her sneaker.

"Mae Mae, Ato Ato!" Iori shouted.

Two steps forward and two steps back.

How true that was.

* * *

A whipping wind swirled into the forest, only accentuating the desolate land that stood just beyond the trees.

"No… not this."

Ken's voice was quiet with despair, but Yolei only stared numbly at the endless snowy plains. It seemed appropriate for her fingers and toes to lack feeling from the cold, like an echo of the mask she wore.

She was in a daze, a cloudy fog as Ken spoke softly to himself, trying to come up with a strategy or a plan, come up with some other way for them to go. It was only when he set his bag on the ground that she finally looked at him.

"We'll camp here. It's getting late."

Yolei nodded and together they began to gather wood for a fire to prepare for the frigid night.

They didn't talk much. Each stared into the flames, haunted by their loss, hopeless. Yolei was beginning to hate fire. Yet the heat of it stole her numbness, comforted her extremities enough to lull her into restless sleep.

"Yolei…"

The voice was hesitant and unsure. Her eyes flickered open and her heart beat wildly inside her chest.

Davis stood above her, a light blush on his tan cheeks. "Hey… did I wake you?"

"Davis!"

"Shhh… you'll wake up Ken."

Yolei's eyes darted to Ken's sleeping form beside the fire before returning to Davis, who was now grinning broadly. "You-you're-"

"You've got real self-esteem issues."

That didn't make sense. "Huh?"

Like the drunken daze she had been in when she last heard him utter those words, everything swayed before her and Davis was on the ground, holding her tightly to his chest. They were alone, the fire casting shadows across a western plain.

"Don't leave me," she cried, her hands digging into his shirt, gripping it as if it might slip from her grasp.

"I won't."

Yolei didn't remember ever moving from his arms, but they were suddenly lying next to each other in the mud, completely soaked. She couldn't help but laugh. She could see him staring at her chest through her fogged glasses and she reached up to his cheek, slapping mud against it.

"Pervert."

He began to go after her with his own glob of mud when she noticed something.

"Why are you wearing your goggles?"

Davis reached up, touching them with muddy hands, seeming surprised when he found them there. He hadn't had them since Kari had taken them home with her that day in the rain.

"'Cause I'm the leader," he sang cockily, but as he did so, he reached up and pulled them off.

With them a piece of his scalp fell, tearing from his skull.

A sob contorted Yolei's body as his face slowly bruised and swelled and blood bubbled from his lips.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, reaching for her. His right hand dangled, blood, tissue and bone protruding from his forearm.

"You promised!" she screamed at the animated corpse. "You told me you wouldn't do anything stupid."

Davis smiled sadly through the smeared crimson. "I remember."

Yolei felt a hot searing pain tear through her chest and she bolted from her sleep, screaming sobs.

Ken jumped up immediately, checking the forest, waiting for the creature to appear. When he realized they were alone he made his way to Yolei's side.

"Shhhhhhhhh….." he soothed, gathering her in his arms. "It was a dream. Just a dream."

Yolei only sobbed more loudly, wishing it really was.

* * *

A sharp pain penetrated his chest as he gasped for air. The violent breath drew into his lungs and his heart felt as if it had been jumpstarted, pounding in desperation beneath his ribcage.

His thoughts spun aimlessly, flashes of fear, horror, the screams, pain and blood. His eyes opened to the dark and his breathing slowed from frantic gasps to shattered puffs.

Was this hell or was it all a dream? He cringed. Everything had felt so real.

"Wh-who's there?" A weak, shaky voice called from the darkness.

His eyes grew wide, desperate to find the source. That voice…he knew that voice.

"Izzy?"

There was a prolonged silence as the question hung heavily in the air.

"… Davis?"


	26. What May Follow

**Innocent Games**

****(Author's note: I seriously love my readers. You all are my biggest encouragement and motivation. Even though it technically might be better to produce a completed story before posting it, I'm so glad I've been posting this as a work in progress with your continual support. I love hearing from you, your constructive criticism and praise make me proud to be part of the digimon fandom. Thanks again, you guys. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Only about six more left after this!)

**Chapter Twenty-Six  
What May Follow**

* * *

This couldn't be real. Just the fact that he was breathing was wrong.

Bits and pieces of his life had flashed unpredictably through his mind after he felt his body shut down. There was no blinding white light at the end of a tunnel, no crossroads or gate keeper; there were only memories, piled and blending together as if someone had raked them up like leaves. His last memories were pain and fear. The unknown scared him, not knowing what awaited him beyond this world, not knowing what would happen to his friends when he left them behind, not knowing how his family would cope, not knowing what happened to Veemon when he was gone, not knowing if he'd ever be forgiven. But it was the known that scared him most, knowing he was dying, knowing that he didn't have the strength to tell them goodbye, knowing this was the end.

"Davis?" Izzy's weak voice called again. It sounded as if he still wasn't convinced he had heard him.

"Yeah… it's me."

"But you… I – that thing killed you."

Davis slowly moved the fingers on his right hand, finding it intact. An image of breaking bone and tendon flashed in his mind. He winced and continued to move small parts of his body, checking them for injury. He felt weak and lightheaded, but he was whole again. Davis groaned as he pushed himself into a sitting position, feeling in the darkness. He seemed to be on a stiff and narrow bed. He lifted a hand to his head and felt a painful pulling sensation in the pit of his elbow.

"Davis?"

Izzy still sounded nervous, but at this point Davis didn't care to reassure him. Instead he ran his hand to the inside of his elbow and found a lump, some type of rubber tube sticking into his skin, like an IV.

"Where are we?" he finally choked.

"I… don't know."

Davis narrowed his eyes in the darkness. He grabbed the tube and with a careless tug, ripped it from his skin.

"SHIT!" he cursed, grabbing his arm as blood began spurting from where the tube had been imbedded.

"Davis!"

"It _was_ a freaking IV, damn it! What the hell is this?" Davis pulled on the disconnected tubing, causing a loud crash as whatever it was connected to fell to the floor.

"How is this possible?" Izzy mumbled. "Did he…? He suggested having the power to manipulate souls, but how could he…"

"Who's he?"

"… Animamon."

"A digimon? Did he capture you because of your program?"

"Who told you about that?"

"Yolei," Davis murmured. He pressed his hand more firmly against the wound in his arm, feeling blood smearing beneath his fingertips. His head finally stopped spinning, he still felt woozy, but he swung his feet over the side of the bed and stood. "I've gotta go back. I have to save them."

Davis immediately stumbled and fell forward, his hands catching himself on something soft and warm. "What the hell?" He jerked back.

"What is it?"

"Something warm…" Davis slowly reached for the object again. It was smooth and soft, like skin. He held his breath and for the first time he heard the sound of deep breathing. His fingers trailed against the object, finding joints… an elbow, a wrist, small thin fingers, a hand that fit in his own. His other hand found a face, trembling as his fingertips traced the outline of cheek bones, a short button nose, small full lips, closed eyelids. He ran his fingers through short silky hair.

"It's…." Davis felt a wave of emotion tumble in his throat. "… Kari," he choked in a whisper.

He knew it was her…. He had studied her face for years, felt it 'accidently' during one of the many occasions they had fallen into a pile after returning from the digital world, felt it with purpose when he kissed her that day in the rain. He knew every curve and crevice, the feel of her soft hair and her gentle lips.

"Kari," he gently shook her shoulder, his voice louder this time, "wake up. Please wake up."

He shook her more vigorously when she didn't respond. "Kari! Kari! Damn it, Hikari! Wake up!"

"The breathing," Izzy mumbled to himself. "That sound… since the beginning, you've all been here since the beginning."

Kari continued to lie lifelessly beneath Davis's grip. "Please, Kari. I...I'm– just wake up, ok?"

There was no response to his plea but Izzy's nonsensical muttering.

"Izzy… what are you talking about?"

"Listen," Izzy commanded. "Can't you hear them?"

"Them?" Davis asked, but he obeyed. In the silence he finally could hear it. Soft steady breaths came from all around him. He slowly reached ahead, walking alongside Kari's bedside until he stumbled into another one. The arm he found hooked to another IV was bigger this time, more masculine and long. He felt in the darkness until he found shoulder-length hair and a pair of glasses.

"Joe?"

In desperation Davis moved quicker, tripping into another cot, another body, another friend… huge poofy hair that had to be Tai, a girl (Davis's face grew hot when he accidently touched her chest) with short hair and an athletic build, Sora, a boy about his size, with thinner arms and short bangs, Iori.

Thoughts raced through Davis's head. Had the others been captured since Ken had separated from them?

Blood trickled down his arm as he continued searching through the dark. The next bed housed another girl, judging by the size of her wrist. When his hands found her face, Davis almost fell backward with shock.

Glasses.

"Yolei!" His heart raced and he searched the next cot, his hands finding Ken. "What is this? What the hell is going on?"

A deep sob pulled Davis from his shock and he tripped over beds, feeling his way toward the only other person awake in the madness.

"Izzy?" As he came closer to the sound of the older boy, Davis's hands found metal bars. "Izzy, what the hell is going on?"

Another sob came from the other side of the bars. "I thought I was alone, but you've all been here all this time." Izzy suddenly started to laugh.

A loud bang shook the ground, rattling their prison.

"What was that?"

Izzy continued to laugh and cry and Davis swallowed heavily.

"Izzy… what happened to you?" Davis suddenly remembered what Izzy had said after he first woke up. "You said that thing killed me. How did you know that? How_ could_ you know that?"

The laughing stopped.

"Because... I am the monster."

A chill traveled down Davis's spine. "What?"

"I attempted to control it, subdue it somehow, but I'm only a portion of that creature. I couldn't stop it from killing you… the others are too strong."

Davis felt sick. "What are you saying?"

"Animamon isn't a normal digimon," Izzy explained, "He can manipulate souls, transfer them, read them, combine them… rip them apart. He made that thing, the creature, by combining the souls of other digimon and part of mine." There was a pause and, when Izzy resumed, his voice took on a hysterical lilt. "I can still feel it when I'm awake, some part of me inside of it, and when I'm sleeping… I'm there, seeing what it sees, doing what it does. I'm part of his creation."

"No way, that's not possible! I mean, you're here… you can't be two places at once! He's just playing tricks on us, right? I mean, maybe we're all just under some kind of spell. Maybe it's all just some kind of illusion so he can take over the digital world while we're stuck here!"

"No," Izzy sounded sure. "That world is real. My program had the capability to create it. What Animamon has done to me and those digimon isn't an illusion, not unless I'm still dreaming."

"I died, Izzy," Davis gripped the metal bars tightly. "If that wasn't some kind of mind trick… how am I alive? How are the others here and there at the same time?"

There was a moment of silence.

"The bodies in that world are replicas. The first time we were in the digital world Datamon made a copy of Sora. Animamon must have done the same thing... except he animated them with your souls. That's why when you died your soul returned to your real body."

"But Sora's copy was just data, wasn't it? I mean… there wasn't like blood and stuff," Davis looked down at his own hand in the darkness with worry, wishing he could see. "What if _that_ was my real body?"

"No… I don't believe it was. A copy makes more sense. It's the only way Animamon could have brought you to an incomplete world. He couldn't transport your real bodies to a place that didn't exist."

"Whatever. We'll make him spill his bad guy plan when we beat the shit out of him." Davis ground his teeth, not wanting to think too deeply on the matter. "We need to get the others back and get the hell out of here. How do we get them back?"

The silence that followed his question confirmed his suspicions. Davis shuddered, already knowing the answer.

"Either Animamon brings them back or… they die."

* * *

The bitter wind whipped fiercely against the skin of his cheeks. His lips were raw and chapped and his nose red with cold. His lightweight blazer was buttoned but, without a shirt, the elements filtered through it, nipping his skin. The snow was shin deep, falling in the crevices of his shoes where it melted into his socks. Everything was wet and frozen.

Beside him, Yolei stumbled and Ken caught her arm before she fell into the snow. Her glasses were fogged and coated in frost, hiding her eyes from his view, and she was shivering uncontrollably. She held onto him loosely as he helped her to her feet. She was weak, whether from the cold, exhaustion, or mourning, he couldn't tell.

Ken cursed himself for coming this way, but the wintery land had been their only escape. Not long after the sun had risen that morning, there were sounds in the woods, noises that could only be attributed to the creature that had taken his best friend's life. They seemed to come from every direction but the snowy plains, so it was there they fled.

"We have to keep moving," Ken coaxed, threading his arm behind Yolei so he could bear some of her weight. Despite the frigid weather, drops of sweat were beading on her forehead. Her poor bare legs were covered in white powder and her naked feet were buried in snow. They had only been in the snow for a few hours, but it didn't take long for frostbite to set in.

When Yolei only nodded weakly in response, Ken began to feel desperate. If they didn't find a way out of this weather soon, he'd lose her too.

"Hang in there… just a little further," he murmured, hoping the lie would give her strength.

Her frozen fingers dug into his blazer, clutching the fabric tightly, and Ken felt renewed hope. She hadn't given up. A small part of him, though, wanted to give up. He had no idea how far they'd have to go to find shelter or escape this frozen wasteland. It would be easy to settle into the snow with Yolei in his arms and fall asleep; there were worse ways to die.

Tears pricked his lids as he thought of Davis and the horrible suffering he endured. Death might lead Ken to his friend again (if there was an afterlife), but it also wouldn't honor him or the sacrifice he had made. With his free hand, Ken gripped the extra digivice in his pocket. For Davis, they needed to live.

Just as the thought reached him, Ken spotted something in the distance, rising from the snowdrifts, beyond a group of evergreens. He squinted, trying to get a better look.

Steam; it greeted him like an oasis in the desert. It had to be a hot spring. He vaguely remembered the original chosen children's story of the hot springs and the refrigerator full of eggs that saved them from starvation.

"Yolei, look! It's a hot spring," Ken squeezed her gently, "Only a little further and we'll be warm and have something to eat."

Another weak nod, but Ken felt her hand tense, trying harder to hold herself up.

It seemed like hours before they reached the source of the steam, each step was more tiresome than the next. Ken's legs were throbbing and frozen as he helped Yolei take a seat on a rock closest to the scalding water. Here the snow was non-existent and the air was thick and warm and just beyond the trees, the wintery land faded away, turning to foliage and rock that led to a mountainside.

Ken knelt down and dusted the snow from Yolei's bare legs as she sat in shivering silence. He checked her toes for signs of frostbite. They were raw and speckled with red and white. "I should have made you wear my shoes," he whispered, more to himself than to her. Inwardly he wished they had taken Davis's, he didn't need them anymore.

Ken looked back up at Yolei's face; her eyes had become visible as her glasses defrosted. She looked distant, her lip trembling from the cold. Ken stripped off his jacket and wrapped it tightly around her. He took a seat beside her and gathered her in his arms, trying to rub away the cold. She didn't protest or say a word.

After awhile her shivering subsided. Once she seemed to be out of danger of hypothermia, Ken kicked off his shoes and socks, shaking off melted snow and setting them on another rock to dry. His bare toes burned as they warmed and he felt a pang of guilt as he thought of how horrible Yolei must be feeling. He turned to her and saw that she was watching him. A faint blush covered her cheeks and Ken felt his own burn under the attention.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Awful." Her voice was muted and weak, but it was a voice.

He smiled sadly. "Would you like some eggs?"

She made a face. "Eggs?"

Ken pointed to the refrigerator that stood oddly by the spring. "Eggs."

"I'm not hungry."

"You need to eat something."

"I can't. I feel sick."

For a minute, Ken was going to continue to argue, thinking that it was grief that kept her nauseous, but then he noticed that the blush on her cheeks had remained. Maybe she was embarrassed to see him shirtless, but she seemed to barely notice him. Her eyes were glassy and distant. Ken made his way to her side and pressed a hand to her forehead.

He frowned. "Can I see your wound?"

Yolei looked at him warily, but nodded her consent, removing his jacket from her shoulders. Ken averted her eyes as she peeled off her shirt. He could see her from the corner of his eye, moving carefully and stiffly, trying to avoid the pain. When he turned back to unwrap her makeshift bandage, he could already tell something was severely wrong. Her injured skin was hot to the touch and the rags of his shirt were covered in blood and pus. The wound was festering.

Ken swallowed heavily. "Yolei… why didn't you say anything?"

He watched her hazy eyes fill with tears. "I…"

"It's infected," Ken stated, trying to still the trembling in his hands. "We need to try to stop it from spreading." He glanced at the boiling hot spring. He gave Yolei's hand a gentle squeeze and left her side.

Using a stick to dip his torn shirt into the boiling water, he washed it until it was free of debris. After wringing out the excess water, Ken turned back to Yolei. From this distance he could really tell what poor shape she was in. Her thin body was pale and trembling, her silky blue bra was stained with blood, the wound was oozing and the skin surrounding it was bright red.

Ken knelt in front of her. "This might hurt, but it'll help with the infection," he explained as he pressed the warm and wet compress against the wound.

Yolei's face tightened in pain and small tears squeezed from her closed lids.

"I'm sorry," apologized Ken as his eyes focused on the warm cloth, trying not to watch her pain.

Every time the compress would cool, Ken would return to the hot spring, washing and warming the cloth and returning it to the wound. He became completely absorbed in the process, allowing the repetitive motions to drown out his thoughts.

Finally, when about a half hour had passed and he had rinsed the rag again, he hung it over a tree branch to dry. He then pulled his blazer back over Yolei's shoulders and rubbed her arms gently. "We'll let it air out awhile, it needs to breathe."

"Ken…" Yolei whispered. "I…" Her face scrunched up and big bubbly tears began to swim down her cheeks. She flew into his arms and cried, curling herself into his chest.

Ken never did find out what she was going to say, the fitful tears had consumed her. There were no more words to console her, nothing he could say that could make any of this better. He leaned them against a rock and continued to hold her, despairing at the feel of her hot skin against his chest. He thought of Davis and gently smoothed Yolei's violet hair.

It was his turn to protect her now.

He only hoped he could.

* * *

In the digital world, the stars seemed much like the ones on earth. When she stared at the night sky, past the strange trees and misplaced street signs, it was like being home, but on a clear night each one sparkled brightly, more clearly than they did in Tokyo where the light pollution blotted them out. The stars here were the same.

Sora found herself entranced by them as she sat on the front steps of the hotel, hugging her knees to her chest. Besides the lack of animal sounds, it felt a lot like their nights at camp had been; the cool brisk breeze that caused goose bumps to rise on her arms, the smell of decaying leaves and earth. It made her think of happier, easier times.

She allowed those innocent memories to wash over her, drowning the fresher, less pleasant ones: they were campfires and picnics, Biyomon and long hikes, soccer and music, flowers and grass stains, friendship and love. Her eyelids felt heavy and the stars blurred. Sora blinked and shook herself awake.

It was late. The others had gone to bed awhile ago, but she couldn't sleep. Their second day here had been filled with tension from the moment she woke until now. In an effort to ease it, Mimi had told Sora about her encounter with Tai the day before. While Sora was glad they had made amends, it felt awkward to hear about it and when Mimi tried to push her to talk with him (she could tell she and Tai had been conspiring by the looks they had given each other at breakfast), Sora had only become angry.

On top of that, Kari was still avoiding TK, causing the blonde to mope around pitifully. It was kind of silly, since they were all stuck here together for awhile. Kari had explained that she just needed some space to process the things she had felt, and she was also attempting to save TK from further enduring Tai's wrath. That made Sora even angrier.

And then there was Matt. He was acting more and more distant, barely talking and constantly chewing on something. It was driving her insane. She wanted to smack the back of his head and make him spit it out.

All the while, Tai kept practicing kendo with Iori. TK joined them occasionally between moping sessions, but Tai was so persistent that even Iori had to insist they stop for awhile. When Iori left to chat with Joe, Tai proceeded to swing his stick in the way Iori had taught him and chant the steps of his footwork (which was slightly more graceful today than yesterday) by himself. He only stopped to smile at Sora when she came outside for some fresh air. And, although she knew it shouldn't, it seriously pissed her off.

Sora sighed and forced herself to stand, rubbing her eyes. She should probably go to bed. She slowly snuck back in through the door, closing it quietly behind her. When she turned around to head upstairs, she found Tai sitting at the top of the staircase, his chin resting lazily in the palm of his hand.

Upon seeing her, he perked up. "Hey, Sora."

Sora felt her body tense and her heart begin to race. "Couldn't sleep?" she asked through her teeth.

Tai shook his head and stood, letting out a loud yawn. "I was waiting for you."

She frowned. "Did you wait for Mimi too?"

"No," Tai replied, his brows furrowing, "That time I couldn't sleep. Is that why you're so mad? Are you jealous? Sora, it was almost two years ago, you were with Matt, I didn't think-"

"Jealous?" The word came out with a laugh of disbelief, but somewhere inside Sora felt the panging sting of truth. "That has nothing to do with why I'm mad at you."

"Then why-"

"Because you hurt our friends, Tai, and you blamed it on me."

"I didn't-" Tai cut himself short and began chewing on his lip. "No one thinks it's your fault. I'm the one everyone's angry at."

"I'm going to bed now," Sora declared as she began to walk up the steps to pass him by. It took an enormous amount of effort to keep her face angry as she watched his dark eyes shifting, internalizing, and filled with pain and disappointment. The tension was thick and palpable between them as she reached the landing where he stood.

"I don't believe you," Tai whispered.

Sora stopped and he turned to her.

"I can understand you being upset because I hurt people, but you're not selfish, Sora. You wouldn't hold this over me just because you think I blamed you."

Despite all her efforts to maintain her hardened expression, Sora felt tears prickling against her eyelids.

"I thought I knew you, Tai."

"Huh? You do know me…"

"No. The Tai I knew never would've used his friends like you did. He never would've harbored all this resentment towards Matt or betrayed Joe. He'd never keep secrets from me."

Each word that came from her mouth seemed to weigh him down. Tai shrunk before her and all the confidence he had won back these past couple days diminished.

"You're right. I don't even think I know myself anymore."

"I feel so stupid," Sora blurted. "I thought you were my friend, Tai. I thought you were my _best _friend, but how can you be? What kind of best friend hides something like that?"

"I- Sora… I'm sorry."

"I thought Matt and I were distant, but now I feel even more distant from you. I loved how comfortable I was with you, I loved how close we were and I thought I-" she took a deep breath and angrily batted away a stray tear. "Why Mimi of all people? Why not some cheerleader at school? Why'd it have to be one of us?"

Tai closed his eyes and leaned back against the stairway banister, sighing deeply. "Would it have made any difference if it wasn't her?"

"Of course it would! Then you wouldn't have hurt so many people – you wouldn't have to hide it from me!"

"That's not what I mean, Sora," Tai opened his eyes and caught her gaze. "Would it have made any difference to_ you_? For… us."

The breath escaped from Sora's lungs as her heart seemed to stop. Tai waited with broken hope and shame for her to answer. When the words finally spilled from her lips, many truths came with them.

"No, Tai. Maybe a long time ago it would have."

Their joint gaze held and a small part of her was tempted to fling herself into Tai's arms just so she could comfort the pain she saw flash on his face, but it was he who broke their contact.

"Yeah," he murmured as he turned away. "Goodnight, Sora."

Tai's steps were heavy as they thudded down the steps. Sora watched in silence as he went out the front door. He didn't go far, she could see him through the front window, pacing the porch before he finally sat down, burying his head in his hands.

"Goodnight," she whispered back.

* * *

Everything hurt.

Her insides ached, her head was throbbing, and she was so tired that her legs could barely carry her. He was so far ahead and there was something behind her, thrashing in the bushes. Adrenaline pumped and she winded through woods, whipping foliage and branches against her face.

Somehow she knew if she just caught up, if she just could see him again, she could save him. At the same time, she was leading death right to him.

Yolei felt breath on her shoulder and the creature was there, its horrific enlarged head and loose skin watched her as she ran. She tried to scream, but only an airy squeak emitted from her throat. She suddenly burst beneath a large fern-like leaf and ran smack into Davis's chest. He fell flat on his back and she fell on top, knocking the air out of him.

"Yolei!" he coughed when he regained his breath. "What the hell are you-"

"That monster," she whispered frantically, tears running down her face and dripping on Davis's shirt. "It's going to kill you."

His dark eyes wandered around the forest, waiting for a sign of life, but the trees remained still around them. "You're seeing things."

"Davis, please listen to me. You have to run!"

Davis slowly sat up, pulling her with him, listening. After a few moments of silence, he shook his head. "You're crazy."

"I'm not crazy!"

He was staring at her chest. Yolei recognized the memory and began to pull up her shirt to hide her bra. "You pervert! There isn't time for that!"

"No, Yolei…" Davis pointed at her chest with a broken wrist and dangling hand. "You're hurt."

She was about to scream at him that he was the one hurt when she saw the blood and pus spilling from her chest, soiling the portion of her bra that was exposed.

"You're dead," she whispered, pulling her shirt back up to cover her wound. When she looked back to Davis, his face had bruised and his scalp had unattached from his skull.

He nodded sadly and the creature appeared behind him, its long neck reaching down to their level. Its coal black eyes stared at her and a sick imitation of a smile formed on its lips. It reached a hand towards Yolei and she sat completely still as it sunk its long claw into her wound, digging.

"I'm sorry," Davis gurgled through the blood in his mouth. "I couldn't save you."

Yolei didn't have the strength to scream.

* * *

A pitiful gasp woke Ken from his drowsy daze. The hint of morning sun was beginning to lighten the sky, guiding his way to Yolei's side.

He took her trembling hand in his own and placed his other against her forehead. She was hot to the touch and covered in sweat. Her breaths ranged from shallow to deep and gasping. Ken slowly uncovered her wound and saw that it had only grown worse through the night. The fever was fighting desperately against the infection.

Ken allowed himself a moment of despair, rubbing the bridge of his nose as small tears of hopelessness gathered in the corners of his eyes. He then took a deep breath and gently shook Yolei awake.

Her caramel eyes opened, but they were coated in delirium.

"How are you feeling?"

"D – Davis…run…"

"Yolei…he's gone," Ken sadly pushed away strands of hair that had plastered themselves to the sweat on her face. "We've got to get you to a doctor."

Her eyes seemed to break from their spell and lock with his. "… too late."

"Don't say that," Ken scolded. "You're going to be fine."

"… no."

Ken clenched his jaw and left her side, gathering their supplies into his bag. He wrapped Davis's bloodstained spear into the handles and strung it on his shoulder. A cool wind blew into the warm sanctuary of boiling hot springs, reminding him of the journey ahead. Despite the dangers of continuing, they couldn't risk staying here.

When he returned to Yolei, her hazy eyes were staring blankly into the sky above. Her teeth were chattering despite the heat of her skin. Ken gently scooped her into his arms, sitting her up. He could tell she was weak, she felt frail and limp in his grasp. When he helped her to stand she fell heavily against him, unable to hold herself up. There was no way she walking out of here.

Ken shifted his bag onto his back and slowly heaved Yolei into his arms. She was lighter than he thought. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he imagined carrying her like this back home; she'd smile at him and cling tightly to his neck. Her bright energy would pull him from the dark; they'd be older… happy. They wouldn't be grieving their best friend; she wouldn't be slowly dying.

Ken gripped her tightly and began their long journey to nowhere. Behind them, death followed.

* * *

"Kari!"

The shout was hushed, but her heart still jumped in her chest. TK was looking down at her from the second floor as she finished going down the steps. She waited as he bounded after her, his normally cheerful expression concerned.

"Hey, didn't you hear me call you when you left?" he asked when he reached her side.

Kari flushed. She had, but she was hoping that when she ignored him he wouldn't come after her.

"I was going to check on Tai. I haven't seen him all morning, I don't think he ever came back to bed last night," she explained.

"Oh… do you want me to help you look for him?"

"I'm not going far, I'm sure he's around here somewhere."

TK looked disappointed. "Kari, I'm sorry about the other night. I was being selfish. I didn't-"

"Please don't apologize, TK. There's nothing to be sorry for."

"Then why have you been avoiding me? I can handle Tai. You don't have to protect me."

Kari watched as his blue eyes searched her, trying to find the real reason for the distance she had put between them. She felt horrible for making him feel guilty, he didn't deserve that, not after all she had put him through.

"I just think its better if we have some space for now…while we're all still stuck here together. Tai's going through a lot, I don't want to make him upset."

TK took a moment to process her words before he spoke. "You're not telling me everything."

Kari wrung her hands together, unsure how to respond. Usually it was so easy to talk to TK, but she didn't know how to relay the horrible feelings that were clouding over her. She wasn't sure she wanted to tell anyone how deep and dark they went. She looked up at TK, taking in how tall he'd grown, and felt the overwhelming urge to fall into his chest and tell him everything, but there was still a part of her that believed she didn't deserve his comfort and she certainly didn't want to drag him down with her.

TK took a step forward and Kari could tell that he was reaching for her. At that moment she noticed a spot of hair out the front window.

"Tai!" she called, before sidestepping the blonde. "I'm sorry, TK…we'll talk later, ok?"

She quickly disappeared through the front door, closing it behind her. Tai was on the steps, his head leaning against a column, and she could tell by his slack posture that he was sleeping. There was drool in the corner of his mouth and he was snoring softly. The position looked horribly uncomfortable, but Tai was known to be able to sleep in some awkward places. Kari had found him asleep beneath their father's computer desk once, halfway tangled in wires. She was worried he had been hurt until she heard the snoring. He had been trying to fix their internet connection and after numerous failed attempts he decided to take a nap right there. Tai told her that he was too lazy to go to bed.

Kari took a seat on the step beside him. Her presence alone woke him and he groggily wiped the sleep from his eyes and yawned. There was an imprint of the column on the skin of his cheek.

"How long was I asleep?"

"It's close to noon. Were you out here all night?"

"Not _all _night, sometime after midnight. The sun was already up when I passed out."

Kari looked at his haggard face and frowned. "You haven't slept since we got here, have you?"

Tai shrugged and looked toward the house out the corner of his eye. A light smirk covered his lips. "Your boyfriend's watching us."

Kari turned around and when Tai raised his hand in a wave she saw TK quickly duck away from the window.

Tai chuckled. "You know, you don't have to avoid him. I won't kill him as long as you two stand at least two feet away at all times."

Kari's cheeks flushed. "I know. It's just…"

"Just?"

"… I feel like I shouldn't be happy."

"Kari," Tai murmured. "Don't keep beating yourself up about what happened with Davis. TK's forgiven you for that."

"It's not just that, Tai. It's this feeling… I can't describe it."

"You can't or you won't?"

Kari found herself focusing on the forest.

"I know you," Tai continued. "You don't want to drag anyone into this, not even me, but whatever this is that you're dealing with, you shouldn't do it alone. I'm your brother – it's my job to look out for you."

"I can't…"

Kari could feel Tai trying to put together the meaning of those words. She felt awful for worrying him when he already had so much to worry about. She didn't want to add another burden to his already heavy shoulders.

"You know, this isn't-" Tai was cut short as Kari put a hand on his knee.

There was a sense of panic, a full and throbbing ball in her chest as she watched the trees. "Tai..."

"Kari, what - " Tai finally noticed her intense gaze. He followed her line of sight and immediately jumped to his feet. "Ken!"

Just beyond the trees they could see him, struggling to carry a limp Yolei in his arms. His heavy head lifted at the sound of Tai's voice.

"Help!" cried Ken in a voice thick with tears.

"Kari, go get Joe!"

Tai took off toward Ken while Kari shakily burst back through the hotel doors.

"Joe!" Kari screamed. The heavy darkness pressed against her and one thought raced through her mind, choking her. "Joe!" she cried again, this time barely making a sound as she screamed his name.

TK appeared beside her. "Kari, what's wrong?"

"I need Joe!"

"Are you hurt?"

Kari shook her head wildly. "No, it's Ken! He's back and Yolei…"

She could tell by the look in TK's eye that he understood her panic. He took off and Kari leaned against a wall, trying to force her tears away. It was only a second before TK returned with Joe and the others were following close behind.

"Ken's back?"

"Who's hurt?"

"What's going on?"

The voices melded together as they passed her by. Only TK remained as the others ran out the front door.

"Kari?"

Even TK's soft voice melted into the background as the pounding inside her filled her ears. Slowly she began to walk toward the exit, her footsteps heavy and distant. TK followed silently.

Outside, a crowd had surrounded Ken.

Kari paused, watching the scene from the porch and Joe quickly passed her by, carrying Yolei into the hotel. Her violet hair was matted and covered in sweat and the only sign of life she emitted were short shallow breaths. Joe barked out orders to Iori, who had volunteered to help, and the door shut behind them. It was so like a dream that Kari could barely understand what was happening. The air was thick and suffocating and the pounding mass in her chest grew stronger as the chaos continued.

She saw that Ken's face had become coated in tears. He reached in his pocket and there was stunned silence as he revealed the object in his hands: a blue and white D-3.

"He's dead."

The words drowned as Ken briefly met Kari's eyes, grief and pain striking his features.

The mass crawled into her throat in the form of a sob.

She had known. Ever since the vision had struck her so violently, she had known it was him.

But she had hoped (oh God, had she hoped) it was wrong.

* * *

A booming crash shook their dark prison, dusting them with small bits of debris. The noises had become more frequent since he had woken.

Davis had finally given up his attempts at breaking out of his cell and was sitting on the edge of his cot, wrapping the crook of his elbow with a bed sheet to stop the bleeding.

"What do you think that is?"

There was the sound of muffled shouts before another loud booming noise rattled the bars.

"A battle, possibly. At least that's the most reasonable answer I've concluded," Izzy answered weakly. He seemed to be more of himself now that he was sure Davis wasn't going to disappear on him.

"With who?"

"I've seriously contemplated what Tentomon and the others did after our disappearance, but I didn't want to hope. They've grown a lot stronger over the years, but they still need our strength to digivolve past the Champion level."

Davis thought of ExVeemon bursting into their prison with a beam of light and he found himself grinning goofily for the first time since he had left Yolei in the forest. "That's gotta be it, Izzy! They're totally gonna beat Animamon's ass."

"It's not just Animamon. There are others."

"No problem. We've faced big bad digimon before and we always win."

"Animamon isn't like other digimon."

Davis frowned in the darkness and there was silence. No booming or rattling, just the sound of their friend's deep even breaths. Davis found his hand reaching, slowly and with purpose, to grab the limp slender hand beside him into his own. He squeezed it gently and half expected for Kari to squeeze back.

There was nothing but stillness.

"Yeah…" Davis mumbled. "I know."


	27. The Battle

**Innocent Games**

**Chapter Twenty-Seven  
The Battle**

* * *

Up until this point, Matt thought he understood what it felt like to be hollow. When his parents split up, when he fell under the spell of darkness in the digital world, when Sora had told him it was over, he thought he understood. It was that emptiness that formed somewhere between the pit of his chest and his stomach, a strange sick sensation that curled the corner of his mouth up in a disbelieving smile at a time where a smile couldn't be any less appropriate.

All those same feelings came back to him now, but with such finality that he wasn't sure he'd ever feel normal again.

Matt watched as Sora poured them each a cup of tea with her shaking hands. Her eyes were red, but she smiled gently as Ken took his and placed a motherly hand on his shoulder, giving it a soft squeeze. Ken kept staring at the table, his indigo eyes coated with shock and grief.

"So, you're saying some type of monster did this?" The question came from Tai, who sounded like he was still choking back the lump in his throat.

Ken nodded slowly. "It's been following me ever since I left."

"And it's not a digimon?" Sora asked.

"Yolei and Davis saw another one just like it before this one attacked us. It was a corpse."

"What are the chances it followed you here?"

Ken looked incredibly guilty as he answered Tai. "I think it's after me personally. It – it could've killed me, but it…" he paused and his face scrunched up as he attempted to regain control of his emotions, "I should go. I don't want anyone else to die because of me."

"You aren't going anywhere," Matt declared.

Tai nodded in agreement. "Matt's right. There's no way we're letting you face this alone. This is probably the safest place we could be right now. We're just going to have to come up with some kind of plan how to take this thing out."

Matt watched Ken's body tense, but the boy remained silent. Their small group grew quiet. They could hear muffled crying and voices from upstairs.

"I… I can't believe he's gone." Tai's face was grief stricken and he batted away a tear with the back of his hand. He and Matt met glances.

When you lose someone, after the initial shock wears off, the first thing that comes into your mind are the things you regret. Even though he hadn't meant to, Matt had put distance between himself and Davis since Davis had come between his brother and Kari. Matt hadn't gotten involved in their drama, but he also never took any time to see how Davis was handling things or even joke around with him the way he had before. It would've felt like he was betraying TK. There was also the overwhelming feeling of guilt that as one of Davis's mentors he should have done something… protected Davis somehow. Obviously, there was no way for Matt to stop his death, but it still ate away at him, hollowing out his frame.

Matt could tell that Tai was thinking the same thing.

"We never should have split up," Tai mumbled. "This is all my fault."

"From the way Ken described it, there was nothing any of us could have done," Sora murmured. "You can't blame yourself for this, Tai."

Tai ran a hand into his bangs, pressing his forehead into his palm. His shoulders shook just slightly and Matt felt the hollow pit growing inside.

Footsteps entered the hall and Joe appeared in the dining room, looking hopeless.

"Kari's asking for you, Tai."

"Ok," Tai breathed weakly, wiping his face on his sleeve. He stood and disappeared into the hallway, and then they could hear his heavy footsteps heading up the staircase.

"How's Yolei?" Ken asked.

"Mimi and Iori are taking care of her. I gave her some medicine for the pain; it should help bring her fever down."

"And the infection?"

Joe pushed up his glasses nervously. "I used some antibiotic ointment. It's not really supposed to be used with open wounds and it's made to avoid infection not to cure it. Without the proper medical supplies I can't… I haven't really been trained yet. It's pretty bad."

"Is she dying?"

"I don't know. She's doing better since I gave her the medication. She's sleeping, but she'll probably want to see you when she wakes up," Joe said.

Ken took that as his cue to leave.

"What happened to them?" Joe asked as Ken exited the room. "It looks like she was attacked by some kind of huge animal."

Matt swallowed heavily and pushed himself from his seat. "I'll let Sora explain it to you."

"Where are you-"

He cut Sora off. "Checking on TK."

Upstairs, there was a mixture of sounds: soft words of comfort and muffled sobs. Matt found TK standing in the doorway of the shared bedroom, watching Ken and Iori sitting diligently by Yolei's bedside. Mimi was on her other side, pressing a cool compress to Yolei's forehead and wiping away her own tears.

TK turned from the scene when he noticed his brother. "Hey."

"Hey."

Yolei let out a soft moan and they all held their breath waiting to see if she was waking. Her lips moved and Matt was sure he heard what sounded like Davis's name.

TK instantly took off down the hallway and Matt went after him. "TK!"

When the younger blonde reached the end of the hall, he stopped and stared out a window. Matt just stood there, waiting for him to speak. He learned a long time ago that TK would spill everything out on his own, but even if he didn't Matt couldn't find the right words to say.

The weather outside was mild and the late afternoon sun was bright. It made the dark inside of the hotel just that much more depressing.

"I wish..." TK finally spoke, still watching the bright outdoors, "I wish things hadn't ended like they did with Davis. I was so angry with him. I – I wanted us to split up so I didn't have to deal with him and Kari being near each other. It wasn't because I thought we'd actually find Izzy or whoever brought us here. I just didn't want to see them together. It seems so stupid now…"

TK faced him and Matt noticed that the bruises from his fight with Davis were barely lingering, just blotchy spots of yellowish brown. Tears welled up in TK's eyes.

"If I hadn't been so selfish, Davis might still be alive."

"It's not your fault, TK. We had no idea what we were facing then."

TK took in a deep shaking breath. "I know, but I can't help but feel like it is. Everything else seems so small now, all the things I was angry with him about. I love Kari, but now all I can think about was how meaningless all that was. Davis is- was a good friend, even though it didn't seem like it sometimes. And now Kari… she's never going to forgive herself for how they left things."

"She needs you now, TK."

TK shook his head. "She needs Tai now. She doesn't want anything to do with me."

"She's just upset. She's probably feeling the same way you are."

TK frowned and turned back to the window. Matt could see the glint of water on his cheek reflecting the sunlight. He gently patted his back and left him there, knowing that he needed his space. Sometimes talking only did so much good.

As Matt headed back down the hallway he could hear Tai speaking softly to his sister. Suddenly TK's words circled around, flooding the hollowness in Matt's chest, not filling it, but simply sloshing around painfully inside an empty shell.

He quickly passed the Yagami siblings by, cringing, because, despite all things, he still didn't have the strength to make peace.

* * *

The sound of clicking, like claws on a tile floor, jolted him from his slack position. He must have been dozing; there wasn't much else to do in this place.

"It's him," Izzy whispered.

Davis released his hold on Kari's cool lifeless hand and fumbled around until he found the needle that had been imbedded in his skin. As the clicking came closer he became silent, barely daring to breathe.

"You have a companion, Izumi."

Well, there went the element of surprise. Davis cursed inwardly and wondered if this digimon had some kind of super night vision. He still kept the needle firmly in his grip and didn't say a word, hoping that maybe he had been heard but not seen. He might still have a chance.

"The creature killed him… now I understand what you've been doing," Izzy responded.

"Do you?" Animamon's voice took on a tone of amusement. "Well, whatever your theory may be, I wasn't planning on the Child of Miracles to return to his body so soon. I told you to control it."

Davis tensed. Miracles? That was the crest that released Magnamon, but honestly he had never thought of it belonging to him. It really just seemed to pop up when he needed, well, a miracle. Right now wouldn't be a bad time for it to show up actually.

"I can't," Izzy argued. "Not only are the souls too powerful, but the creature's body is failing. It's impossible for me to communicate with it anymore."

"Then you may find more of your friends joining you shortly."

A desperate panic coursed through Davis. "No!" he shouted, throwing himself into the metal bars.

"I was wondering when you would speak up, Motomiya."

A sudden stab of hot rank breath blew across Davis's face and he leaned backward, but maintained his ground. "Bring them back," he growled. "No one else is going to die."

"Death is an unpleasant experience, isn't it?"

There was a screeching sound like bending metal and then Davis felt a force knock him off his feet, throwing him into his cot. He immediately jumped up, flailing the needle aimlessly in the dark, trying to impale his attacker. He felt it sink into something that gave way like soft fleshly skin.

"Oh, just a little closer and you may have stabbed her carotid artery. That probably wouldn't have ended well." Animamon's voice came from behind him and Davis circled around, heart racing. He couldn't see anything. Who did he hit if it wasn't Animamon?

Davis turned back to where the needle had made impact. He reached forward and his hands hit an object, floating eerily where Kari's bed had been. Warm liquid dripped onto his hand.

"Damn it…" he choked as he felt Kari's limp body suspended in the air. A small trickle of blood was dripping from the top of her shoulder. "Put her down!"

"Or better yet, how about I kill her here? She won't even feel it this way. Her soul will just remain trapped in my world forever…at least until the creature destroys that body as well."

"Don't!" Davis spat. "Leave her alone!"

Davis heard Kari's body slump back onto her cot and he ran to her side, using her sheets to stop the bleeding. "You sick bastard, making me… just wait until our digimon get here. We'll kill you!"

"No. You see, if they ever do come to save you, I'll kill you first."

Davis felt his entire body go stiff. He never wanted any of his friends to endure what he had. He was frozen, unable to do anything to fight Animamon, anything to save the others from the world they were in now. And he was scared, absolutely terrified of death.

"I should kill one of your friends just to teach you to behave yourself. Which one shall it be?"

Davis suddenly found his head encompassed by a large hand and the memories came spilling forth. He tried to struggle, but it was useless. Flashes of his last days since he had been brought to Animamon's world flew across his internal vision. Passionate fights and tears, laughter and violet hair.

"I see… so the Child of Light isn't the only one you care about."

The images dissipated and Davis felt his face grow hot. "I care about all of my friends. Don't touch any of them!"

"Then I expect you to comply with all I ask. You will not defeat me. Cooperation is your best chance of survival. I still have use for the chosen children."

Davis ground his teeth and remained silent, still putting pressure on Kari's wound.

"You see, Izumi, they may be able to succeed where you have failed."

"Please… please let us go. You've only created death," Izzy begged.

A loud booming explosion shook the ground and bars around them.

Animamon's voice was somber, "You may be right."

* * *

She seemed so small. Their age difference and her boisterous personality had always made her seem so much bigger, even when he had finally surpassed her in height. She was never meant to look like this, so sunken and pale and sad. The makeshift bandage had been replaced with sterile gauze, but it was quickly soaking through with blood and pus.

Yolei began a short violent round of shaking and Iori saw Ken grab her hand, squeezing it gently. Neither of them had left her side since Ken had told the others his story. She took a deep gasping breath and her eyes fluttered open.

Joe strode across the room from where he had been speaking with Mimi and sat beside Yolei, placing a hand on her forehead. The lines in his face told Iori he didn't have good news.

"She still has a fever."

"Yolei?" Ken whispered.

Her caramel eyes searched blindly and Iori thought that she was delirious until Joe handed her the glasses that they had set on the bedside table.

Yolei put them on her eyes and seemed to gain some clarity. "Thanks," her voice was scratchy and weak and her head turned stiffly as she took them all in. "We… found…you." Each word came out slowly and seemed to drain her energy.

"You should rest," Iori said softly.

Yolei's hand wiggled in Ken's and he released her so she could take hold of Iori's. Tears began falling from the corners of her eyes and Iori felt his own stinging.

"Do they… know?" she asked Ken.

He nodded and Yolei's tears became a steady stream, rolling into her pillow.

"Feel like… I'm dying," she choked. "Davis… it was… for nothing."

"It wasn't. He died with honor. He was a hero, just like my father." Iori squeezed her hand tightly. "You're going to live, Yolei."

She took a deep shuddering breath and Iori could feel her shivering despite the heat in her skin. "Iori… tell my… mom and dad… my family… I love them."

Ken's chair screeched as he stood abruptly. Iori saw him press a hand to his eyes as he stormed to the window.

Yolei watched Ken for a moment before shutting her eyes, squeezing out the remainder of her tears.

"You can tell them yourself when we go home, ok?"

"Promise… take care… of Hawkmon."

Iori shook his head and his silence caused Yolei to open her eyes again.

"Please…" she begged.

"You aren't going to die."

"You… don't know… that."

"You've got to fight, Yolei. Don't give up," Iori demanded as a tear rolled down his cheek, "Don't make me tell them you're gone." He looked up at Joe. "Tell her she's going to be fine."

Joe frowned and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Iori…"

"You're going to be fine, Yolei," Mimi said as she pulled a chair up to the bedside. She brushed a sweat soaked strand of hair away from Yolei's face. Her other hand gently squeezed Joe's knee. "Joe was just telling me how much stronger you look now."

Mimi's swollen eyes could have been attributed to the news of Davis's death, but Iori knew that wasn't the only reason she had been crying. Yolei was like a little sister to her.

"I…" Yolei choked on a sob. "I… don't want… to die."

"You just need some more medication." Joe reached into his bag of supplies and dumped a number of pills into his hand. "Can you help her sit up?"

Iori and Mimi each helped pull Yolei into a sitting position and Iori placed more plush pillows behind her back to help make her comfortable as she let out a pained whimper. He could smell the faint odor of decay coming from her wound and he felt his stomach churn.

Yolei slowly downed the pills that Joe handed her, but even taking small sips of water made her wince. She collapsed from exhaustion and her eyelids grew heavy.

"… wanted to… go to college… get married… have babies," she mumbled in a voice that vaguely sounded like a typical Yolei whine. It made Iori feel a very small bit of hope.

"You will," Mimi soothed, "and someday you'll have a beautiful daughter and we'll dress her up in pink. I'll be her godmother!"

Yolei barely seemed to hear Mimi's words as she faded in and out of sleep, back into her fever dreams.

"H-how is she?"

Iori turned around to see Kari, who was still wiping fresh tears from her eyes. Tai's face looked just as grief stricken as they surveyed Yolei's labored breathing.

"She's really sick," Joe responded gravely.

Kari took Ken's seat, watching her DNA partner in silence, while Tai collapsed on the bed beside them.

"What are we going to do?" Iori asked Tai. "We have to get her to a hospital."

"I don't know."

The time passed by slowly as they kept watch over their ill comrade. The longer Yolei slept, the looser her hold on Iori's hand became and he found his heart racing with fear every time she took in a deep struggling breath, worried it could be her last. He couldn't bear thinking about living without her. She had been part of his life as long as he could remember. She was family.

"Stop…please, stop," she murmured desperately in her sleep. Her face had tightened in terror and she looked as if she was screaming, but didn't have the strength to make the sound. "Davis…breathe…"

Kari covered her mouth with her hand to hide the audible sob that escaped her lips and Ken finally left his post by the window. Iori watched as he shakily grabbed a sharpened, blood-stained stick from the floor and stormed out of the room.

"Ken?" Iori called after him.

When Ken didn't respond, Tai stood and made his way to the window. Yolei had begun to mumble incoherent nonsense.

"Where do you think he's going?" Mimi asked.

Almost a minute passed before anyone spoke.

"Shit!" Tai cursed and without saying a word he also ran from the room.

"Tai, what's going on?" Sora's voice asked from the hallway. Tai must've simply sped past her because just a moment later Matt said, "I'll go see what's up." Footsteps followed Tai down the stairs and into the kitchen.

There was the sound of rattling dishes and then Matt's voice again. "Tai, what the hell are you doing?"

Sora and TK suddenly appeared in the bedroom. "Do you guys know what's going on?" Sora asked.

Downstairs, the front door burst open. Iori found himself releasing Yolei's hand and heading to the window that Ken had been staring out of.

The day was bright and inviting and the trees rustled in a gentle breeze. Then, less than a half mile away, something more than the breeze shook the treetops, whipping them violently in all directions. Below, Tai disappeared into the tree line and was soon followed by Matt. Iori could hear Tai's muffled voice shouting for Ken.

He turned to the others with wide eyes.

"It's here."

* * *

Besides his own voice shouting Ken's name and Matt shouting his name from behind, the woods were eerily silent. Too silent to be housing a five story tall evil monster.

Tai could hear dead leaves and foliage crunching under his feet as he ran, mixing in with the sound of his own heart pounding in his ears, but he couldn't hear or see any sign of Ken. Tai cursed aloud and hoped he hadn't lost him. Ken was being reckless seeking revenge for Davis and Yolei. He was obviously too emotional to think straight, although Tai had to admit, he wanted to rip the monster apart himself, make it pay for what it had done to Davis. He gripped the butcher knife firmly in his hand. In all honesty, he didn't think it'd do much good after hearing the story Ken had told, but it was better than facing the monster empty handed.

"Damn it, Tai! Wait up!" Matt sounded farther away and out of breath. That's what he got for being a musician and not an athlete.

Tai picked up his pace, desperate to get to Ken before he did anything stupid and partially to lose Matt – he didn't want anyone else involved in this. Tai tried to push away the nagging thought in the back of his mind that told him he really just wanted to keep Matt safe for Sora's sake. If either he or Matt had to take this risk, she had made it clear who she'd rather come back in the end.

Tai ground his teeth. It wasn't going to come down to that. He was just going to grab Ken and get the hell out of here.

After a while, Tai still couldn't pick up where Ken had gone nor hear any sound of the creature. He stopped, panting lightly as he tried to decipher a noise in the thick woods. What if he had gone in the completely wrong direction?

Just as the thought crossed his mind, he heard Ken's voice shouting just ahead.

"Why are you doing this?"

Tai followed the voice to a small clearing and in it the creature was standing over Ken. Its sickly head hung low, almost eye to eye with the former Kaiser.

Tai halted to a stop, shocked at the horrific sight and wondering what he could possibly do next. He took everything in; the creature's body was rotting, heavy blotches of yellowish flesh exposed decaying muscle beneath its pallid skin. It was so emaciated that he could clearly see each rib and its stomach sunk so far in that its hip bones protruded unnaturally.

"Why not just kill me?" Ken choked. "You know who I am, don't you? Why kill my friends? They have nothing to do with who I was before!

Tai watched the drooping skin around the creature's mouth tighten as if in a malicious smile.

"I won't let you hurt anyone else!" Ken shouted, readying his spear and grounding his feet for battle.

"Y-y-y-" The creature's voice seemed to house many beings and the noise it made was as if they were all gagging. It suddenly stopped and its large Adam's apple moved beneath the loose skin of its thin long neck as it swallowed.

The creature took a step forward and its dinosaur-like foot landed just in front of where Tai stood as its huge clawed hand swung down at Ken. Tai took the chance without a moment's hesitation. An anguished cry echoed through the forest as he skid behind the creature's foot and sliced through its Achilles' heel, spilling blood behind him.

"Ken!" Tai shouted, his voice barely audible above the monster's screaming. "What are you thinking! Get out of here!"

Ken stared at Tai in shock, his mouth gaping open. Another horrid cry turned his attention back to the creature and his face hardened with resolve. "NO! This monster killed Davis and Yolei's going to die because of it. I'm not letting it live!"

"Damn it," Tai groaned, pushing himself from the ground to avoid being trampled. "I just got lucky! We gotta go before it kills us too!"

The creature's cries came to a halt and its long arms twisted in their joints, bending with a sickening snap as it fell to all fours. It turned around, dragging its injured foot on the ground as it searched for its attacker.

"Shit!" Tai yelped, dodging the hand that came crashing down at him. He scrambled into the trees as the monster began to crawl after him. For the first time, he got a good look at its face. The rotting loose skin seemed to drip from its jaw as it drew back to reveal rows of sharp teeth. Its black eyes reflected the look of horror on Tai's face.

It was so close, he could smell the decay. Just when he thought he was done for the creature flew backward, screeching and screaming. A spear was sticking out of the side of its belly and Ken stood just feet away, looking astonished it had made impact.

The creature yanked out the spear, causing blood to squirt from its wound in short pulses, and within seconds the weapon had become splinters in its powerful grip.

"We gotta get out of here!" Tai shouted as the creature's neck twisted to gaze over its shoulder at Ken. "Run!"

"We'll just lead it back to the others. This has to end here," Ken argued. The sunlight reflected the tears that were streaming down his face. "Kill me! I'm the one you want!"

The creature lifted its rotten hand.

"No, Ken!"

"I deserve this."

Tai couldn't believe what he was hearing. After all this time, even with all their forgiveness and support, Ken still hadn't forgiven himself. His mind flashed back to the story Davis had told them about his first DNA evolution with Ken and the suicidal path he had been set upon.

For a moment Tai felt almost as if he were channeling his young protégé as he screamed, "LIVE!"

The single word that Davis had screamed at Ken years ago caused the boy to dodge the creature's incoming blow just in time. Ken rolled on the ground and shot to his feet and Tai grinned, knowing he had gotten through.

A rustle in the foliage turned Tai's attention to the forest and Matt burst into the clearing. His blue eyes were wide with panic.

"Tai, watch out!"

The creaking sound of breaking wood caught Tai's attention and he saw that in its fury, the creature had snapped a tree in half. The heavy top of limbs and leaves came hurtling at him from above until he felt himself being yanked backward. The tree crashed with a heavy thud just in front of his feet and Matt let go of his collar, wheezing heavily.

"Thanks!" Tai breathed in relief before giving Matt a jeering smirk. "You know, you should really stop smoking."

"Shut up."

A roar of human voices seethed from the creature's mouth as it swung again at Ken, who's only weapon now was a large rock. Ken barely evaded the next blow and claws dug into the earth where he had been standing, pulling up dirt and roots.

Tai took off, brandishing his knife and ignoring Matt's voice yelling at him to stop. He had to do this. How many times had Agumon faced death and danger to protect him while he simply dodged debris? It was his turn to fight, to protect the ones he loved, and to prove to himself that he still had courage. Tai sped toward the creature's uninjured foot, planning to slice through the other Achilles' heel to bring the creature to its knees.

The sound of its desperate attempts to grab Ken came to an abrupt standstill and Matt's shouts stopped, leaving the forest eerily silent. Tai paused just below the creature's center and saw its giant body slowly shift. Its long neck lowered and its head came upside down through its arms to stare directly at him.

The hand shot out so fast that there was no way to dodge it. Fingers wrapped tightly around Tai, crushing him as it lifted him into the air. It was almost as if he were in a dream. He could hear Matt and Ken shout for him but it sounded miles away. He could barely breathe and each second that the creature squeezed, Tai felt like his ribs would crack. His hand that held the knife was still free and he used all his strength to stab it into the creature's palm, dragging it deep through its flesh.

With a bellowing scream, the creature loosened its grip, but Tai held fast to its fingers and pulled himself onto its wrist, yanking the knife out with him.

Then, in what was either a miraculous coincidence or some type of act of God, the creature brought its hands to its head, cradling its humanoid skull in agony and bringing Tai just where he had hoped to go. He slid down the giant wrist and onto the forearm. Rotting skin came loose beneath his fingertips, but the creature didn't even seem to notice the trail of destruction Tai left as its multi-voiced cries continued.

"So… close," Tai groaned, stretching forward with his knife. The creature jerked and Tai's eyes wandered below to the four story drop beneath him.

Suddenly a million memories burst through his mind, like his life playing on fast forward, lingering on failures and regrets. With a pounding heart, Tai closed his eyes and gulped heavily.

Then he jumped.

* * *

What happened in mere seconds seemed to last an eternity. All the while, Ken could only see Davis in Tai's reckless heroism.

He watched as Tai flew from the creature's arm and landed just below its ear, using his knife as a stronghold. It sliced through the rotting flesh like butter as he slid across the beast's throat. Blood came gushing out like a waterfall and a huge clawed hand came slamming into the one responsible.

Tai's screams were only drowned out by its gurgling cries.

Flashbacks of Davis being crushed and his body colliding with a tree hit Ken like a train. Matt's agonized shouts reminded him of how desperately he had screamed Davis's name.

And then, the creature came crashing down.

Ken had to run to avoid being squashed by its massive head, which landed just in front of him, spilling red across the forest floor. The creature's black eyes fixed on him and, for a moment, Matt's shouts for Tai and his thoughts of Davis faded into the background.

Labored choking breaths tumbled from the creature's lips, blowing over Ken so heavily that his hair flew back. Blood spilled over loose skin and those eyes that had seemed so hideously evil softened with tears.

It was weeping.

Ken's entire body shook as it let out one final shuddering breath and the tortured life in its eyes disappeared, leaving them blank and soulless.

"No! Oh, shit!" The distraught curse was followed by many and Ken finally drew his eyes away from the lifeless monster to see Matt prying Tai from beneath its hand.

When he joined them, Ken could tell by the shallow movement of his chest that Tai was unconscious but alive, which was more than he had expected. His right arm, however, was completely mangled below the elbow, twisted and dangling awkwardly from its joint. Blood was quickly soaking through his shirt sleeve.

"Tai! Tai!" Matt shouted desperately, pulling him into his arms.

Ken realized he hadn't noticed that Tai was still breathing. "He's alive. We have to get him back to the hotel."

Matt gave an obedient nod and began to heave Tai onto his shoulder. The movement must've rattled Tai awake, because soon the only thing they could hear were his roars of agony.

"Oh, fuu-uuu-uuck! My arm!" The string of curses continued and Tai's injured arm bounced uselessly against Matt's back with each step they took.

"Hang in there, Tai! You're going to be ok!"

No words seemed to comfort the bearer of courage. His eyes were clouded with pain and confusion and they began to roll back into his head as he once again lost consciousness.

"Wait!" Ken demanded, taking off his blazer. "He's losing too much blood." Matt obeyed and Ken tied the sleeves tightly above Tai's elbow, creating a tourniquet.

Tai faded in and out of consciousness throughout their journey and each time his shouts became quieter. Matt was breathing heavily beneath the weight, but when Ken asked if he could carry Tai, he refused.

"I'm… sorry, Matt," Tai choked weakly after that.

"Don't you dare say that," Matt's voice was hoarse, "You aren't allowed to apologize right now."

"I need to."

"No you don't."

Tai groaned and his eyes grew heavy again.

"You idiot." Tiny teardrops fell from the corners of Matt's blue eyes and Ken thought he saw a faint smile form on Tai's tortured face before he slipped back into the dark.

When they could finally see the hotel through the trees, Ken heard voices calling their names. He could vaguely make out the outlines through the foliage.

"Over here!" Matt shouted.

Kari was the first to appear with Sora and TK on her heels. Ken felt a sharp pang in his chest as she stifled a sob at the sight of Tai's limp bloodied body. He didn't wake at her desperate calls.

"What happened?" Sora asked, eyes glued to the figure in Matt's arms.

"That monster… he killed it, but…" Matt choked.

"We've got to get him to Joe," Ken stated flatly.

Kari turned to him in violent despair. "Why would you go after that thing? After what it did to Davis…why?"

"I-"

Sora placed a hand on her shoulder. "Kari, you need to be with your brother right now," she whispered shakily.

Kari dashed the rivulets from her face before she and Sora followed Matt inside. TK lingered for just a moment and Ken looked away until he heard the door shut again.

Then the guilt washed over him as heavily as his tears.

* * *

If this was what it was like to be a doctor, Joe was considering a different profession. He tried to convince himself that in a hospital with the right equipment and support, he wouldn't be so exhausted, but he knew that it was the stress of responsibility that was really weighing him down.

Yolei hadn't woken since Ken, Tai, and Matt bolted into the forest and despite the medication, her fever wouldn't break.

Maybe if she was a stranger, Joe could disconnect himself enough to handle the situation professionally, but he felt completely lost. The panicky kid he had once been was begging to break through the doctor mask he was wearing.

The tension in the room didn't help. Everyone else had gathered, arguing about whether to follow the others or to wait for their return. They figured Matt and Tai would stop Ken from doing anything crazy and it was best to let them be, but eventually TK had enough and decided to go after them. He couldn't convince Kari or Sora to stay behind.

The sun sunk in the sky, bringing dusk when Joe heard Kari screaming in the distance. Mimi limped to the window and soon he heard her gasp, "It's Tai! He's hurt!"

Joe immediately prepared what little first aid supplies he had left, adrenaline pumping through his veins. He didn't know what to expect, but panic assumed the worst. He checked on Yolei one more time to make sure she was stable and was giving instructions to Iori when Matt came in the door carrying their leader in his arms.

"His arm!" Matt coughed as Joe helped him lay Tai down on the bed beside his other patient.

Kari, Sora, and TK all crowded around him and Joe politely asked them to give him room.

Below a makeshift tourniquet, Tai's right arm was twisted awkwardly and blood soaked through his long shirt sleeve, staining the sheets. Joe grabbed a pair of scissors and began to cut through the sleeve to assess the damage. When he peeled it back, he had to hold back the urge to vomit.

"Oh, Tai!" Mimi sobbed behind him.

The arm was beyond crushed, the only thing that held the forearm to the elbow joint were strips of mangled muscle and tendons coated in blood. Even if it hadn't been almost completely detached, there was no saving it, not here without the right tools or real doctors. The bones were shattered and the skin was broken and bruised, even Tai's fingers were swollen and lifeless.

"Give me your belt," Joe whispered, holding his hand out to Matt. When he didn't respond, Joe turned to him and saw he was staring at the mangled mass in shock. "Matt."

Matt's eyes never left Tai as he undid his belt and handed it to Joe who created a stronger tourniquet above the sleeves of Ken's blazer.

The pressure pulled Tai from the dark; his eyes were clouded and unfocused as he gasped with pain.

"Tai, I'm going to have to take care of your arm. It's going to hurt."

"Already hurts," Tai moaned groggily.

"Taichi," Kari cried, grabbing his left hand tightly.

Joe let them be for a moment and approached Sora who looked on the verge of being sick. "I need some type of wooden utensil and the sharpest knife you can find, ok?"

"Joe, his arm…"

"Can you do that, Sora?"

She agreed quietly and took off downstairs to the kitchen. Joe took a minute to regain control of his breathing. When Sora returned, Ken was behind her.

"What can I do to help?" he asked.

"Help Matt hold him down." Ken nodded obediently and Joe turned to TK. "Take Kari out of here."

"No, I'm not leaving him."

"Kari…" TK soothed.

"No."

"You'll have to stand back," Joe demanded.

Kari reluctantly let go of her brother's hand and Ken took her place.

"Ok, Tai, I want you to bite down on this," Joe placed a wooden spoon in Tai's mouth.

"You're gonna cu'i'off, arn you?" he asked through the spoon.

"Yes."

Tears rolled from Tai's eyes and his teeth dug deeper into the wood. "'m ready."

"Hold him down."

Matt and Ken each grabbed Tai's biceps. Joe could hear someone running from the room and saw a flash of red hair from the corner of his eye. Anxiety pounded through him so quickly that he was sure he would pass out, but he fought it away, knowing Tai's life counted on him. They were all counting on him.

"Ok, Tai, on the count of three."

Tai closed his eyes and his face tightened in anticipation.

"One…"

Joe felt weak as he held the knife in position.

"Two –"

He brought the blade down quickly, but he still had to saw through the thicker tendons. Tai's cheeks puffed up with heavy breaths and the wood cracked from the pressure of his teeth as he attempted to withhold his screams. Joe ordered Matt to help tie off spurting blood vessels and he suddenly understood why his father had always been so hard on him about his anxiety, why he had sometimes seemed so cold.

There's no room for feeling when you're responsible for someone's life.

* * *

Death felt only slightly different the second time. This time was more painful, but the end was the same. The labored breathing, the loss of feeling, until finally there was nothing left.

It was coming sooner or later, whether by violence or decay, Izzy had felt the creature fading.

He spit out the remaining vomit in his mouth and could just barely make out Davis's voice asking if he was ok. He didn't answer.

All those digimon that were sacrificed to make up that creature were gone now, free from their tortured existence, but they would never go to primary village just like he would never be whole again. Izzy suddenly felt as if he was getting the raw end of the deal. Maybe death, a final death, was the ultimate freedom in the end.

The booming sounds of battle shook dust onto his head.

"Izzy, what happened?" Davis asked again.

"It's dead," he finally whispered.

"What? That's awesome! How?"

"Tai slit its throat."

"You've got to be kidding me. Dude, if anyone could do it, Tai could! That's so badass! I wish I could've seen it!" Davis's praises suddenly faded and Izzy could hear him swallow. "Is he ok?"

"Well, he's not conscious here yet."

"That's true," Davis mumbled. "How'd it happen? You fell asleep and then you didn't wake up when I tried talking to you until you started puking and stuff... you ok?"

"I…" Izzy paused, deciding against telling Davis exactly what he had experienced, "…seem to be most connected to it when I sleep. I guess it's the soul's way of coping with being conscious in two places at once. It came in contact with Ken first."

"He found the others? How is he? Could you tell?"

"He's distraught. He was seeking revenge for you and Yolei-"

"Wait, why Yolei?"

"He said she was going to die because of it."

Davis grew very silent. There was a scuffling sound above them and muffled shouting.

"Do you think someone's really trying to save us?" Davis's voice sounded sad and insecure, so unlike the cocky hotheaded boy Izzy had come to know.

Maybe the battle was for them. Maybe there was still hope, but Izzy found himself shaking his head, even though no one could see it. He wasn't sure it even matter if he was saved now.

"Yes, I believe someone is."


	28. Dreams

**Innocent Games**

(Author's note: Once again I am stunned and flattered by the amount of support you wonderful readers have shown this story! Thank you so much! I got this chapter out really quickly. The next one is a very challenging chapter to write, so I'm not going to make any promises that it will get out as fast as this one did. Hope this holds you over until then!)

**Chapter Twenty-Eight  
Dreams**

* * *

Everything was black.

It reminded him of when they were first brought to this place and he waited for the dim fluorescent lighting to brighten his surroundings, but it never came.

How did he get here? The last thing he remembered…

Pain shot through his right arm so sharply that he gasped and reached to clutch it, finding only air.

"Shit…shit!"

"You're missing something too."

Tai pushed aside the electric shocks of broken nerve endings and attempted to steady his breath, waiting for the voice to speak again.

"Izzy?"

There was nothing but silence.

"Damn it, Izzy," Tai moaned, "answer me."

Static filled the void and Izzy's voice broke up as if it was coming over a bad internet connection. "Don't come back here."

Tai's memory flashed to the time Izzy had shown up on his computer, telling him not to come back to the digital world. He remembered the vacant expression on Izzy's face, the hopelessness he had felt not knowing how to get back to his friends, and the guilt for abandoning them even if it wasn't by choice.

"Where are you?" Tai yelled into the dark.

The static continued. Tai tried to move and realized he was lying down. When he attempted to sit up, it felt like hands were pinning him down. He struggled frantically. "Get off me!"

"Tai, calm down," a new voice demanded.

The darkness began to roll away and the pain in his arm became more intense.

"Izzy!" Tai shouted desperately.

"You've got to stay still, Tai. You're going to reopen your wound. It's just a dream."

As the dark faded, blurred figures appeared, dancing around him in a whirlwind of color. The pain made sight secondary. He could feel the crushed bones and torn muscle, the throbbing, tearing, shooting pain just below his elbow. He tried to pry the hands from his chest forcing him to lie still. Lying still only made the pain worse. He needed to move, run, or hurt some other part of himself to take his mind off of the agony that tore through his missing limb.

"Grab some more painkillers," Joe's voice barked.

Tai's vision began to clear. First the blue of Joe's hair came into focus then his sister's worried face, then Ken and TK's hands holding him still. Another shot of pain made him cry out. He closed his eyes and ground his teeth so hard that he was sure he was wearing them flat.

"Here, Joe." Tai could recognize Mimi's shaky voice and he pried his eyes open to look at her. Her hands trembled as she handed Joe a number of pills. Seeing them together sent Tai's mind into a wave of delirium and he found himself tearing up.

"I'm so sorry, Joe!" he gasped. "I'm sorry!"

The cold, silent stare melted behind the rims of Joe's glasses. "Tai… you have to relax, ok?" he said softly.

Uncontrollable tears began to spill down Tai's cheeks. "I can't! You have to forgive me!" he blubbered.

"I forgive you, Tai," Joe whispered. "Now promise me you'll calm down."

Tai nodded slowly and reached to wipe the tears from his face, but the pressure of Ken's hands on his bicep restrained him.

"You can let him go."

Ken released him and Tai ran the back of his hand across his eyes and nose. He went to move his other hand and felt pain shoot through his phantom fingers. He lifted his head up enough to see the stump of his arm wrapped in blood-stained bandages. He fell back onto his pillow and bit into his lip so hard that it began to bleed.

"Damn it," Joe muttered, his voice thick and heavy. "Help him up."

TK and Ken helped push Tai into a sitting position. His eyes rolled back into his head, but he fought off the urge to pass out.

"You lost a lot of blood," Joe continued. "Here, take these. I'm sorry I don't have anything stronger."

Tai felt him press pills against his bloodied lip and then a glass of water which he drank down carefully, coughing when another bought of pain flared up. He felt himself being lowered back down and he turned to Kari when he reached the pillow.

"Tai…" Kari gently grabbed his left hand and he forced a smile at her.

"I'm ok, Kari."

Her lips shook. She took in a deep wavering breath and pressed them together to keep herself from bawling.

"You can cry if you want to," Tai said. "Or am I a big enough baby for both of us?"

"No!" Kari shook her head violently. "You're the bravest person I've ever known."

Tai squeezed her hand and then realized for the first time that TK had taken Matt's place beside him. His eyes must've asked the question because TK explained, "Matt got sick after he helped Joe…" he trailed off, not wanting to go into detail.

"Wuss."

A few choked laughs broke through around him and Tai smirked lightly.

"I'm sorry, Tai," Ken said when it grew silent. "I never meant for this to happen. I didn't want anyone to follow me."

"I wasn't gonna let you," Tai cringed through a wave of heavy pain, "have all the fun."

"This is my fault. Your arm, Davis… that creature – "

"Is dead now." Tai narrowed his eyes at Ken. "You aren't responsible for this, Ken. I chose to go."

Ken's jaw clenched as if he were going to argue when Yolei moaned beside them. His whole body drooped and Joe gave him permission to leave.

"Tai needs to get some more sleep."

"Izzy," Tai choked, suddenly remembering, "I dreamt about him."

TK, Mimi and Joe all met glances, but Kari seemed to understand. Dreams always had more meaning to her than the rest of them.

"We'll find him, but first you need to get better."

Tai frowned at Joe's doctor voice. He stretched his phantom fingers and felt pain course through his missing arm. How was he supposed to get better from this?

He must've voiced the thought aloud, because he heard Kari whisper, "You can do anything," before he faded back out of consciousness.

* * *

The cold water he splashed onto his face couldn't erase the images that kept racing through his mind: the sound of Joe cutting through flesh, his hands coated in blood as he pinched off arteries, Tai's screams as they cauterized the wound.

Matt noticed there was still a bit of Tai's blood beneath his fingernails and he spit into the sink to get rid of the taste of vomit in his mouth before vigorously scrubbing his hands again. He had probably washed them ten times by now.

Down the hallway he could hear muffled shouting. It sounded like Tai was awake again. Matt cringed, knowing he should be there. He thought of Tai's pained apology as he carried him through the woods and he was suddenly guilt-stricken for all the animosity that grew between them.

So this was what TK must be feeling.

It wasn't that Matt didn't care about having Sora again, but suddenly it just wasn't important. The fact that Tai had made a move so quickly after their breakup, that he had been harboring feelings for his girlfriend for years didn't matter anymore.

A memory of their time in the digital world swam to the surface of Matt's mind, of when Tai was lying in the dirt, beaten and out of energy as WarGreymon took on Piedmon alone. Even though the last time they had seen each other he had been slugging Tai in the face and ordering their digimon to do battle, Tai still smiled at him and said, "I knew you'd come."

Matt felt his eyes water. Despite his poor displays of his friendship, despite their constant competition (whether for leadership or in love), Tai had always believed in him.

He let out a loud puff of breath and turned off the sink, drying his hands and face on a towel. He could really, really use a smoke right now.

The craving for the calming effect of nicotine was so strong that Matt found himself storming past the room the others were in and heading down the staircase to the outside. He took a deep breath of fresh air as soon as he opened the door and ran his hands through his hair.

"I-is he ok?"

Matt startled and clutched his chest to keep his heart from jumping out of it. Sora was leaning against the wall of the building, hugging her knees to her chest; her face was red and covered in dried sticky tears.

"No," Matt spat out, feeling a lump forming in his throat.

Sora stared at him with wide eyes of shock.

"He's not dead!" he corrected, realizing how his answer must have sounded. "But his arm…" he swallowed back another round of bile that swam to the surface of his stomach.

Sora's whole body shook and Matt walked to her side and leaned against the wall, slowly sliding down until he sat beside her.

"I've been so horrible to him!" she sobbed. She looked as if she was going to speak some more but the tears overtook her so violently that she couldn't get the words out.

Matt cautiously put a hand on her shoulder and when she kept weeping, he pulled her into his arms, feeling his own eyes watering again. She felt so small and vulnerable there and the cold unfeeling attitude he had built up toward her since their breakup melted away.

After she settled down some, he ran a hand over her hair and she looked up at him, pushing away her tears with her fingertips.

"You should go see him," he murmured.

Sora sniffled, but nodded in agreement, blushing as she unwrapped herself from his arms. Matt felt his own cheeks go warm as she grabbed his hand and gave it a thankful squeeze before leaving to head inside.

He slowly took another deep inhale of the brisk night air and, because of the lack of cigarettes, he found himself bringing his fingernails to his mouth. A faint smile of irony crossed his lips as he realized he was doing the same thing he used to scold Sora about.

He understood that habit so clearly now.

* * *

The last of the sun ceased to shine through the window, bringing night officially upon them. TK wondered if he'd get any sleep at all. Selfishly he was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to curl into a ball and forget the day's events. Better yet he'd be at home reading a book to Patamon until their eyelids drooped closed. Then his mom would wake them up with breakfast. She made the best pancakes.

He didn't think anyone would be making pancakes in the morning here. One glance around the room also told him that he probably had the least right to be so exhausted. Poor Joe's face was haggard as he checked Yolei's vitals and TK vaguely wondered if his frown lines would become permanent after this. Ken and Iori still waited together in silence for her to show some sign of life. TK could see Iori's green eyes slipping open and closed, but Ken's remained in an unblinking vacant stare, almost as if he was afraid he would miss something.

TK felt an ache in the pit of his stomach when he realized Ken was afraid that when he closed his eyes, she'd be gone.

In front of him, Kari clung to her brother's remaining hand, wincing at every bit of pain she saw flash across his face. It was almost as if they were connected.

TK noticed an ache in his knees and leaned back onto the bed he was sitting on, stretching his legs straight. Mimi sat down beside him, babying her injured ankle and lifting it so that it lined up perfectly with his leg. Her foot only came to the middle of his shin.

"You've grown so much," she whispered.

"Or you got smaller."

She smiled at him, but the haunted look in her eyes remained. They all had that look right now, but small normal conversation seemed to ease the discomfort of the unknown, the fear that they could possibly lose their friends.

The two of them watched Tai's restless sleeping and then Joe return to his injured arm, checking the bandaging. His frown lines deepened.

"We'll have to change this in another hour," he mumbled, more to himself than anyone.

"You should rest a little bit," Mimi spoke softly. "You look awful."

Joe cracked a pitiful smile. "Thanks, Mimi. You always know just what to say," he joked.

She rolled her eyes at him. "I'm serious. How are you supposed to take care of them if you aren't rested? At least sit down for awhile."

Joe straightened and trudged over to their side of Tai's bed. He patted Kari's shoulder before plopping down next to Mimi, shaking the bed the three of them were sharing.

"There."

Mimi looped her hand through his fingers. "Isn't that better?"

Joe took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Yeah," he said when he replaced them, but despite the reassurance he gave her, TK could tell he was far from rested on the inside.

Footsteps in the otherwise quiet room drew TK's attention to the door and he saw Sora entering hesitantly, her gaze drawn to the stump on Tai's right side. She paused by Yolei and seemed to breathe out a sigh of relief when she saw that her chest was still rising and falling with short breaths. Then Sora continued to the foot of Tai's bed.

"How is he doing?"

Joe frowned again. "As well as he could be, considering… He lost a lot of blood, but I think he's out of the danger of shock. He needs to rest and we need to take care of that arm so it doesn't get infected."

Sora leaned against the footboard, holding onto it for support. New tears flooded her eyes, but she quickly batted them away. "Was he upset that I ran away?"

"Honestly I don't think he noticed," Joe replied bluntly. "He was in too much pain."

"It's ok, Sora," Mimi consoled. "I had to go to the corner of the room and cover my ears."

Sora nodded and joined them on the bed, sitting beside Joe. "How long has he been asleep?"

"He woke up about a half-hour ago. I'm hoping he'll stay out for a while, it's easier on him."

TK could see disappointment on Sora's face. "Are you ok, Kari?" she asked.

"He's going to be fine."

Sora only nodded again even though Kari hadn't really answered her question.

TK felt his body tense. Of course Kari wasn't ok, maybe that was why she didn't want to answer, but TK knew that it was because compared to how Tai must be feeling, in comparison to Davis's death, Kari didn't care about herself.

"Hey Kari, why don't we take a walk?" he suggested.

Kari turned to him and looked as if he had asked her to jump off a bridge.

"I-I'll watch him for you, Kari," Sora interjected.

Kari's face softened. "Ok," she agreed before bringing Tai's hand to her mouth and kissing it. She gently placed it back on the bed and TK jumped to his feet, offering his own hand to her. When she took it and stood, she looked back to Tai, still reluctant.

"Joe will call us if anything happens," TK assured her, "We'll just walk around inside, ok?"

As they exited the room, TK could see Sora slowly move to Kari's seat and grab Tai's remaining hand, pulling it into her lap.

He and Kari walked in silence down the hallway until she murmured, "I need to use the bathroom."

The bathroom was all the way on the other side of the hallway. Their silent walk continued, but TK felt reassured that Kari still held tightly to his hand. It made him feel a little more at ease about her avoiding him since they got caught almost… his cheeks flushed at the memory.

When they came to the bathroom, he expected her to let go, but instead she pulled him in with her.

"Kari, what-"

Then she was against him, burying her gut-wrenching sobs into the fabric of his shirt. They were loud, hopeless cries, wracking her tiny frame so hard that he was afraid she'd break. All the tears she had spilt until this point seemed tiny in comparison.

"I-I'm… I'm not… ok," she sobbed.

TK rubbed her back and rested his cheek on the top of her head.

"I know."

* * *

His moods were swinging like a girl with PMS and that thought alone pissed him off enough to slam his boot into the metal bars that held him in his prison.

"Damn it, damn it, fucking stupid piece of shit," he swore through his teeth, kicking the bars repeatedly until his toes started to ache.

"Davis, settle down, you aren't accomplishing anything."

"If I could just fucking see I could get us out of here!" Davis raved, slamming the bars with his foot again. "This is torture!"

Izzy didn't respond and Davis felt guilty knowing that Izzy had been locked up in here far longer than he had been. He gave the bars one last final good kick and then resumed pacing back and forth between the cots on a trail he had memorized.

Davis now knew where each one of his friends slept. He had gone around his cell a number of times, feeling his way among their bodies. He felt like a bit of a creep, but there was something comforting about knowing that the others were here with him; even if it they were only empty shells.

It was the feelings of helplessness and worry that he couldn't stand. Would he ever see them awake again? Or maybe a better question, did he want to see them if it meant death in the other world?

Izzy's words about Yolei kept replaying through his mind. He had tried to save her, but the wound she received before he jumped in must've been pretty bad. He cursed himself for leaving her in that forest and tried to deny the feelings that made him do it. He had to take a leak, it wasn't because Ken showed up right when he was about to blurt out something stupid. What was he supposed to do, pee in front of her? It was just bad timing.

That didn't make him feel any less guilty that she was suffering now. His mood swung back into despair and he finally collapsed back onto his cot. He had broken out into a sweat from his temper tantrum and was dying of thirst, but he hadn't been offered anything to drink or eat since he woke up in this place. Izzy had told him he thought he was going to starve to death once.

Maybe he should've kept that damn IV in.

An explosion shook his prison so loudly that Davis sat back up, tensing. That one was really close this time.

"Do you think that's a good or a bad sign?" he asked Izzy.

Before Izzy had a chance to answer Davis heard a door opening and the familiar sound of claws scraping on the floor. Animamon was back. Davis jumped back to his feet, but remained silent.

"My creation has expired," Animamon stated flatly as he paced in front of his prisoners. "You have failed me."

"It was weak," Izzy responded. "The body couldn't contain multiple souls, it's unnatural."

"You are weak," Animamon spat back. "Now the master of the Sovereigns is interfering… if anything that old fool says can be believed. My world must be completed soon. I need beings to fill it."

Davis felt just a bit of hope at the sound of distress in their captor's voice. "What old fool?"

Animamon ignored him. "Maybe the interference can be stopped without its vessel…" he continued mumbling nonsense. "I will take her hope."

Davis didn't like the sound of that.

"Without hope, she will be completely closed to the light, and I have need for another human soul."

"I don't know what you're going on about," Davis abruptly shouted, "but you won't be using any more human souls if I have anything to do with it."

"Still cocky as ever… did you forget our earlier encounter?"

Davis blanched and gnashed his teeth. Then he heard the sound of creaking metal and felt his body thrust down onto his cot as if he were pinned by heavy air.

"Ugh! Lemme go!"

Animamon moved past him, through the rows of cots, turning left by the sound of his steps.

Suddenly his words made complete sense. If the circumstances weren't so dire, Davis would've given himself a huge high five for having figured it out. Instead, though, he struggled against the heavy air in vain and waited for Animamon to raise one of their friends from his sleep.

* * *

Her gaze was glued to the tan fingers that were wrapped in her grip. Sora had given up watching his face. Every time it tightened in pain her eyes watered. It was easier to stare at his hand, the one that remained. Looking at him just brought the stump of his right arm into her peripheral vision.

His nails were short, they always had been. It was something she liked about Tai's hands. Sometimes he gnawed away at his fingers the same way she did, but it was usually out of boredom rather than nervousness. She remembered scolding him for his horrible manners when he'd spit out the broken nail he'd managed to bite off. That is so gross, she'd remark. Well, I'm not gonna swallow it, he'd reply, sticking his tongue out at her playfully.

Tai's palm was calloused from work outs and practices, rough to the touch. Matt had calluses too, but they were mostly on his fingertips, formed from years of digging them against the strings of his guitar.

Sora bit her lip, ashamed with herself for comparing the two.

Joe and Mimi had moved onto Yolei's bedside with Iori and Ken, giving her some space. She could hear them talking gently, but the words were gargled, unimportant. Somehow, staring at Tai's hand had absorbed her completely, taken her mind away from the fact that she would never touch his other one again. This hand was all that mattered right now.

His fingers twitched in her grasp and then she felt them tighten around hers. It wasn't until his thumb gently rubbed against the back her hand that she realized he was awake. She lifted her eyes to meet his and immediately found her vision blurred by tears.

"Yo," he greeted weakly, the hint of a smile tugging on the corner of his mouth.

"Hi," she breathed shakily. For some reason it was all she could bring herself to say.

"You look a whole lot prettier when you aren't crying."

Sora swiped her free hand across her eyes. "You're such a jerk."

Tai chuckled then his jaw clenched and his eyes squeezed shut. Sora could feel his grip on her hand increase as he rode out another wave of pain.

"Stupid Tai," she cried. "Why do you always have to play the hero?"

"Habit," he said through clenched teeth.

"Do you want me to get you some more painkillers?"

He declined. "A whole bottle of those things wouldn't do it," he groaned.

Sora couldn't help it, her tears burst into a sob and she clutched Tai's hand with both of hers, weeping. "You idiot, you could've died!"

"Sora…" Tai pushed himself up as best he could and moved his right arm, as if to wipe away her tears.

The look that formed on his face as his bloody bandaged stump came between them broke her heart.

"Hey," Tai soothed when she let out another sob, "Look at it this way, it'll be a lot harder for the refs to call hand ball on me now."

"That's not funny."

"Aw man, I just came up with that one; I thought it was pretty good."

"Stop it, Tai," she sniffled. "You suck at telling jokes."

Tai sunk into his pillow, looking dejected and Sora took in a deep, shaky breath.

"I'm so sorry, Tai… about what I said before."

"It's ok."

"No, it's not. I've been so horrible to you. I-I was jealous," she stammered, her cheeks burning and her eyes darting to Mimi to make sure she hadn't heard. "I just wish you had confided in me instead of… being with her. You're my best friend."

"It's kinda hard to tell your best friend you're in love with them," Tai smiled sadly, "especially when they're dating your other best friend."

Sora nodded. She could at least understand that. "Tai, I…"

"You still love Matt."

A fresh tear slid down her cheek at the pain in his voice. "I love you too."

"Don't start crying again, you look ridiculous."

Sora glared at him. "If you weren't armless…"

"Now look who's making jokes," he grumbled, wincing.

His warm brown eyes met hers and then a simultaneous muffled laugh broke loose, followed by a series of joined chuckles, melting the tension between them.

"Sounds like you're feeling better."

They both looked up at the sound of Matt's cool voice. Despite the sound, he looked like a wreck.

"You too," Tai retorted as Matt pulled up a chair beside Sora's. "Finally done puking?"

"Shut up," Matt growled, but his gaze wandered to Tai's stump and his attempt at coming across collected completely fell through as his eyes watered mercilessly. "I thought you were dead…"

"He's too stubborn to die," Sora reminded him.

"Yeah." Matt looked at her as if she had read his mind and she suddenly remembered that he had spoken those very words to her years ago when Tai had disappeared into a portal with MetalGreymon.

Sora felt Tai's fingers twitch in her grip and then he was carrying her hand, placing it on Matt's. He grasped both of their hands in his as best he could.

"I love you guys," he grinned weakly.

"We love you too, Tai," Matt choked.

Tai's eyelids seemed to be having trouble staying open and he mumbled something that neither of them could make out.

Sora looked down at their clasped hands, Tai's hand (his only hand) holding them together. Her lip trembled as she realized that he was what always held them all together, even now, years later.

Neither of them dared to move as he faded back to sleep.

* * *

When her chest stopped moving, Ken held his breath. He was convinced that if she didn't breathe again, he wouldn't either, but then her chest struggled upward with a deep raspy sound and Ken sucked in oxygen, knowing full well he couldn't have held his breath much longer.

Yolei was dying.

Joe had said her chances were slim. Knowing that any moment could be her last, any breath, any movement at all would be the last thing Ken ever saw of her life, burdened him so greatly that he thought he would follow her and Davis just by the sheer agony of it all.

Beside him, Iori had finally nodded off to sleep. Most everyone was sleeping at this point. Mimi was curled up on a bed not far away. TK and Kari were resting against one another on the bed beside Tai. Even Sora had fallen asleep in her chair. Only Matt, Joe, and poor Tai remained awake as they changed Tai's bandages. He had the wooden spoon in his mouth again, using it to keep himself from yelling out as Joe washed and redressed his stump. Ken could hear Tai dropping F bombs through the wood, but his eyes never left Yolei.

He took the moment alone to press a cool compress against her forehead and gently wipe away the damp hair from her face. Yolei inhaled sharply and her eyes fluttered open at his touch. Ken found himself holding his breath again.

It was like seeing a ghost. Her stare was blank and clouded.

"Yolei?" he breathed.

She slowly turned her head to look at him. "Are… we home?"

She could still speak. Ken let out a sigh of relief. "No," he answered. "Not yet."

"What… are you… doing here?"

"Taking care of you."

"No… without Davis."

Ken felt his insides twisting. "What?"

"He's… always with you. Like brothers… tell him to stop… taking… fighting games… wrecking them. Broke two… last week."

"Yolei… Davis is-"

"Tell him."

Ken finally recognized the delirium. "Ok."

Yolei seemed content with his answer and she started breathing more evenly again. Ken could still feel the fever in her hands.

"He's gone… isn't he?"

Ken nodded, unable to speak.

"Can't… see you," she whined and Ken fumbled for her glasses, handing them to her cautiously.

It seemed to take Yolei great effort just to lift her hand to put them on her face. When she was done, the arm slumped heavily back into her bed.

"You… look so sad."

"I am sad."

"Davis… could always make… you smile. I- I don't… make you happy."

"You make me happy, Yolei," Ken whispered. "You make me smile."

"Then… why… are you crying?"

Ken swallowed heavily. "Because I'm so happy you're talking to me."

"Liar." Her gaze wandered to the ceiling and she stared at it blankly. Ken could feel her hand trembling. "So… cold."

Her body was so feverish that it was like a space heater, but Ken pulled a blanket over her anyway, hoping to help subdue the shivering.

Yolei didn't speak again after that. Her eyes closed in restless sleep and Ken returned to watching her chest rise and fall, holding his breath each time the pattern became irregular.

He made a promise to himself then, to anyone listening, that if Yolei pulled through this, he'd smile at her more often.

* * *

Dawn had come, but the light it brought didn't diminish the darkness of the prior day. Emotional exhaustion had dragged her into a restless sleep of nightmares. As the warmth of the sun settled on her face, Kari almost didn't want to open her eyes. Reality was no better than her dreams.

There she had seen Davis. He was grinning cockily and teasing her as they walked from school, just the two of them, like they always did. Kari's cheeks warmed as he flirted and she dismissed his advances. The clear sky above them shifted into a downpour and Davis stopped, staring into the clouds, outstretching his hand to catch the drops and allowing a pool of water to form in his palm. The pool rippled with each drop that joined it and for some reason Kari couldn't pull her eyes away.

A single drop of red collided with the water, swimming thickly through the clear liquid. Then another fell and another until the pool was tainted a deep shade of crimson.

The shower that poured over them became thick and warm, running slowly down their faces.

Kari cried out to him, but Davis continued to stare at the sky, allowing the drops of blood to bounce off his goggles, roll down his eyelids and across his cheeks. Then he faded into black, deaf to her apologetic screams.

Those dreams haunted her sleep, intermingled with the images of her brother's mangled amputation and his tortured cries, but in those dreams she could at least see him again. Reality was much harsher.

Kari woke to find Tai sitting up straight in his bed as Sora held a bowl out to him. He was moaning pitifully as he attempted to grab his breakfast with a pair of chopsticks in his left hand.

"I can't do it," he growled in frustration as the sticks twisted awkwardly in his grip. "Don't we have a fork or something?"

"You'll have to learn to use your left hand sometime, Tai."

Kari quietly uncurled herself from TK's arms, hoping Tai hadn't notice their sleeping arrangement.

"This sucks. I just lost my arm; you could at least baby me for a day."

Tai attempted to pick up another piece of egg from the bowl Sora held, but the chopsticks crossed the wrong way and fell from his grip.

"Damn it!" he cursed loudly as they clinked against the floor.

Sora reached down to pick them up and Tai's left hand clenched tightly.

"Damn it," he repeated, quieter this time, his voice thick and syrupy. Kari could see his face scrunching up in an attempt hold back tears.

"Tai…"

"I'm fine," he mumbled, gathering his composure. "Just get me a goddamn fork."

Sora's eyes glistened as she left the room. Kari silently scooted from beneath TK's weight and he slumped heavily onto the bed. Usually he wasn't a very heavy sleeper, but she guessed yesterday's events had worn him out.

Joe was groggily re-examining Tai's stump when they both noticed that she had woken.

"Are you ok, Tai?" she asked.

His smile was strained. "Yeah. How'd ya sleep?"

Kari saw a flash of Davis's blood drenched face.

"Fine."

She could tell that Tai wasn't buying it, but Joe had begun unwrapping his bandages, which pulled his attention away from her. Kari had to turn away and bite back her tears when his injury was exposed.

Tai let out a string of curses loud enough to wake everyone as Joe began dressing the wound with ointment and new bandages.

Iori jolted from his sleep and cringed as he saw Tai wincing in pain. He turned back to watch the shallow rise and fall of Yolei's chest and looked ashamed when he saw that Ken was still awake, his eyes framed with dark circles.

"Did she wake up?" he asked Ken.

"Once," was all Ken could muster.

Tai's curses finally died down and Kari took Sora's seat, watching his cheeks puff up as he tried to regain control of his breathing. His hand was clutching the bed sheets so tightly that his knuckles were beginning to turn white.

Sora reappeared, followed by Matt and Mimi, who were each carrying trays of food.

"We figured it was best to eat breakfast in bed today," Mimi smiled warmly.

"That sounds great, Mimi," Joe replied as he finished wrapping up Tai's arm.

"As long as you brought a fork," Tai muttered.

Sora handed him one, apologizing, which in turn caused Tai to apologize and sheepishly dig into his food.

"TK? Hey, wake up, I made pancakes."

Kari turned to where TK was lying. Matt placed the food down on the end of the bed so he could nudge his brother awake. "TK?" he said again, shaking him.

TK didn't budge and an overwhelming dread fluttered into Kari's chest.

"Plug his nose," Tai exclaimed. "That always wakes me up."

Matt patted TK's cheek. "TK? Come on, get up already."

Still no response.

"I'm telling you, plug his nose. Works every-"

"TK!" Matt shouted, panic obvious in his voice.

Joe swallowed a piece of egg and quickly made his way to their side, blocking Kari's view.

"He's breathing."

"TK, wake up! Wake up!"

A limp hand dangled off the side of the bed.

"His vitals are all fine."

"TK!"

"He must be really tired…"

"No, he's always been a light sleeper, there's no way he'd sleep through this," Matt argued. "What's the matter with him?"

"Did something happen last night, Kari?" Joe asked. "Anything that could have made him lose consciousness?"

Kari's heart raced as she stared at the limp hand, the only part of TK she could see through the crowd that had gathered around him.

"No."

"TK!" Matt yelled again. "TK!"

"Give me room to examine him, Matt."

Matt ran both hands into his hair as he backed up, tugging on it in desperation. Sora touched his back to calm him, but he barely noticed.

Joe couldn't find anything wrong with TK. No matter what they did, he wouldn't wake. Words like 'sleep paralysis' and 'stress' flowed from the college student's mouth uncertainly. Eventually, Joe assigned Matt to watch over him while he attended to Yolei. Sora sat down beside him. The pancakes went uneaten.

"Kari, don't worry," Tai soothed, "He's gonna be fine."

Her brother's words of comfort fell short. Kari watched TK's chest move evenly up and down, and she felt as if her whole body had gone numb.

All hope was lost.

* * *

He had been having the strangest dream, like an influx of memories strung together. He moved through them effortlessly, speaking with his memory family or memory friends in one moment then moving on smoothly to another year, another place, talking again as if nothing had happened, as if it were normal to jump from one time to the next. Some of the memories were happy ones, while others were painful, but he kept gliding, his emotions swirling from joy to anger to fear in a natural progression. He saw his parents, his brother, his digimon, his friends, and all the most important moments he had spent with each of them played in rapid seamless succession.

When TK finally opened his eyes, it was pitch-black. It seemed odd, he was sure Joe would've left a light on so he could check on his patients. He slowly sat up and reached to rub the sleep from his eyes only to feel a sharp pulling sensation in the crook of his elbow.

He reached to the spot and found a tube running into his arm. "What…?"

"I knew it!"

TK froze, sucking in a sharp breath. That voice… it had to be someone else.

"Tai?"

"He thinks I'm Tai," the voice chuckled.

"That's because he believes you're dead," another familiar voice answered.

TK blanched, unable to speak for a moment, he must still be dreaming. He swallowed heavily and pinched himself. "D-Davis?"

"Heh, sorry to disappoint ya."

There was no way this was possible. Ken had told them that they burnt his body. There was no way he could be alive.

A huge bang suddenly shook his surroundings, loosing dust onto his face. TK coughed and heard the second voice say, "Let's hope this battle keeps Animamon occupied long enough for us to formulate a plan."

It was Izzy. There was no way that voice _didn't_ belong to him, but this had to be a dream, some strange hopeful thinking at the end of his memories.

"Yeah, we gotta get everyone out of here before he uses blondie for his next monster."

TK pinched himself again. "This isn't possible…"

The two voices stopped talking and TK heard footsteps coming toward him.

"I thought the same thing," Davis's voice spoke up right in front of him and TK felt a hand touch his arm, feeling in the dark, and then clasp his shoulder reassuringly. "But this jackass Animamon made copies of us and messed with our souls and stuff."

That hand made everything real. If this wasn't some type of strange illusion, then Davis was alive, talking to him. TK was suddenly overcome with emotion and he reached out into the darkness, embracing the shorter boy.

"You're alive!"

Davis stiffened in his grip. "Yeah, yeah, get offa me."

TK let him go, blinking back tears. "Davis, I'm sorry! I'm sorry I wanted to split up, it's my fault we weren't there, that you-"

"What're you talkin' about?"

"When we first split up after the party, I suggested it."

"Oh, I was pretty drunk. I don't even remember that."

"Listen, Davis… I want to apologize. About our fight, Kari-"

"Now isn't the time," Davis grumbled, then a moment later his voice softened, "Is she ok?"

TK frowned, feeling an immense sensation of guilt. What would happen to her when she woke up and found out he was gone? "No," he said finally, "between the news your death and Tai's arm, she's barely functioning."

"What happened to Tai's arm?" Izzy asked.

TK remembered the blood and torn muscle. "Joe had to amputate it..."

"Holy shit!" Davis exclaimed. "Is he gonna be ok?"

"We were worried for awhile; he lost a lot of blood. But he should be fine as long as it doesn't get infected."

"Well, he's gonna be happy to get his real body back then. I bet that hurt like hell."

"His real body?"

"Yeah, everyone's here. They're all sleeping. Listen."

Davis grew silent and TK could hear deep even breathing all around him. A chill went up his spine and another loud bang rocked their prison.

"Izzy," he breathed, his mind racing with unanswered questions, "tell me everything you know."


	29. Awake

**Innocent Games**

(Author's note: Sorry for the long wait this time around. I knew this chapter might take awhile between real life events and simply organizing the detail of the content. I hope you all find it worth the wait. I'm really excited about this chapter - about 3 more left after this!)

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Nine  
Awake**

* * *

Everything was quiet. Worry and fear crept among them like predators, hunting their joy. There was nothing else that could be said to comfort those around her; they were all sinking in despair.

Matt hung over TK's bedside and his crossed leg bounced up and down mechanically as he chewed on his fingernails. Sora was beside him, looking completely overwhelmed. Nothing she could say or do got through to the worried elder brother. In fact, any attempts she made to speak to him just seemed to infuriate him further, almost as if he was upset that she was trying to make him feel better.

Tai was sitting up watching them; his remaining arm was draped over Kari's shoulder as she curled up beside him on the small twin bed. He had given up speaking awhile ago; he looked like he still didn't have the energy anyway. His face was pale from the loss of blood.

His sister looked almost as sickly. Kari hadn't cried or said a word since Joe completed his examination over TK's comatose body. She was an empty shell.

And then there was Yolei, so close to the brink of death that they feared losing her at any moment. Joe sadly said the best they could do for her at this point was make her comfortable. Unfortunately, with the lack of medical supplies, there was only so much comfort that could be given. Ken and Iori continued to hover over her and poor Joe was wandering between them all, running himself exhausted and denying the need for sleep.

For the first time in her life, Mimi _wanted_ to fight.

Sitting around babying her injured ankle made her feel completely helpless. She wanted nothing more than to run up to whoever was responsible for bringing them to this world and punch them square in the face. Then have Togemon body slam them with her needles.

Joe was speeding past her and Mimi reached out her hand, grabbing his wrist. He stopped moving, but she could tell by the look in his eyes that he was only waiting patiently for her to release him.

"What is it, Mimi?"

"You're going to faint if you keep going like this."

Joe pursed his lips, looking offended. "I am not going to faint."

"There's nothing else you can do right now. Why don't you rest awhile?"

"I-I can't. Everyone's counting on me."

Mimi could see the distress behind his wire rimmed glasses. He looked as if the weight of the world were on his shoulders. The urge to fight grew stronger, but right now there was nothing to fight but Joe's stubbornness.

"Have you eaten anything besides that one bite of egg this morning?"

Joe pursed his lips again, meaning that no, he hadn't, and Mimi used his arm to help herself stand. "We're going to the kitchen!"

"Mimi, I have to-"

"I need your help getting down the stairs and I'm hungry."

"But, the others-"

"Joe, you better listen to your woman and get something to eat," Tai interjected. "We'll be ok without you for a few minutes."

A blush crawled across Joe's cheeks. "But-"

"You heard him," Mimi exclaimed, practically pushing him as she leaned on his arm for support. "Food now, Dr. Kido."

"I'm not a doctor," Joe grumbled as he finally allowed Mimi to drag him out of the door. "Just, uh, scream if you need me," he called back to the quiet room.

"Go eat!" Tai hollered.

"Yes, listen to your woman, Joe," Mimi grinned at him as they disappeared into the hallway.

Now even Joe's ears were red, but the look of worry and exhaustion continued beneath his embarrassment.

"I'm really proud of you, you know," Mimi smiled gently, squeezing his hand as they slowly started down the steps.

Joe swallowed heavily. "I just did what I had to do."

"That's why I'm proud."

"Thanks Mimi."

"Are you ok?" she asked as his eyes turned downcast. "I know what you had to do to Tai's arm was awful…"

"I don't really want to talk about it."

Mimi didn't take offense; she honestly didn't want to talk about it either. It was hard enough just seeing Tai like this, he had always seemed so invincible, but then again… so had Davis. Her lip trembled just thinking about the energetic goofball who had followed so proudly in Tai's footsteps and she angrily batted away a small tear.

"I'm so mad," she declared. "Somehow we've survived saving both worlds a hundred times, but we get sucked into this stupid place and everyone's hurt or dying for nothing! If we ever get out of here, I'm going to teach the creep who did this to us a lesson they'll never forget!"

She stomped her foot in frustration and yelped, having forgotten about her sprained ankle.

"You need to be more careful," Joe mumbled, his red cheeks turning a deep scarlet as he wrapped his arm around her middle so he could bear most of her weight. He was warm through his blood and dirt-stained dress shirt and Mimi clutched to him tightly, enjoying the peace and protection she felt as she was enwrapped by his tall lanky frame.

It was funny, years ago when they first met, she would've probably bet her family's entire fortune against it if someone had told her she would feel safe in the arms of Joe Kido. But the Joe at the beginning of their adventures had grown into this Joe, still the same, but braver, calmer, and more reliable than ever before.

When they entered the kitchen, clear from anyone's view that might wander the hall upstairs, Mimi wrapped her arms around Joe's neck and used it to pull herself up so she could reach his mouth. She kissed him softly and he obediently allowed her to, but she could tell he was distracted. She pouted against his lips and he was about to belt out an apology when she began kissing him again, catching his bottom lip between hers, teasing him into accepting it fully. His long arms wrapped around her middle, pulling her closer to him, and Mimi entertained the thought of what it would be like to be completely at one with Joe Kido.

She finally pulled away, face flushed and smiling as Joe panted to catch his breath.

"Sit down while I make you lunch," she ordered breathlessly, throwing her hair back over her shoulder.

Joe collapsed in a chair as he readjusted his askew glasses.

Mimi began burrowing through the cabinets, pulling out mixing bowls, pans, and rice. She limped to the refrigerator and returned to the counter with arms full of vegetables and eggs.

"How about a stir fry? Would you rather have rice or noodles?"

When Joe didn't answer her, Mimi swung around to see that his eyes were closed and his head was hanging slightly to the side. Small tears stung her lids as she watched him sleep. She turned back to the gathered food and prepared it as quietly as she could, trying not to wake him.

She silently wished for peaceful dreams or, maybe even better, no dreams at all.

* * *

The ceiling was shaking so often now that he could literally pinch away the layers of dust and debris that had settled on his skin. If he got asthma or something from breathing in this stuff, he was going to be pissed.

"So our real bodies have been in the digiworld all this time? In this prison?"

Davis groaned in annoyance. TK had probably asked the same question fifty different ways by now and people called _him_ dumb…

"I'm assuming that this is Animamon's base of sorts. By the sound of his footsteps, he goes up a flight of stairs when he exits this room. I've concluded we're in some type of bunker or underground dungeon." Izzy began coughing as another round of dust rained down on them. "Th- that would explain the lack of light."

"Definitely a dungeon," Davis chimed in, kicking a metal bar.

"So our other bodies…" TK trailed off and for a moment Davis thought he was going to stop talking. "Am I dead… that other body? The copy, I mean. Do you have to die to come back?"

"Well, Animamon _meant_ to bring you back, TK," Izzy said softly. "Davis was an accident."

Davis felt something like a ball tighten in his chest and he swallowed back the subsequent lump that formed in his throat.

"As far as the copy of your body is concerned, we can't be sure what happened to it," Izzy finished lamely.

"Well, it sucks either way, don't it?" Davis grumbled. "Everyone either thinks he's dead or in some kind of coma."

"They've been through enough," TK mumbled. "I don't want to put them through anymore pain."

Davis knew that by 'them' TK really meant Kari, but instead of tense jealousy, he felt a surmounting anger.

"We can't let Animamon do this to us," he growled. "We've got to defeat him somehow and get them back."

"I'm chained to a wall and you're in a cage," Izzy spat bitterly with his weakened voice. "There's no escape and fighting isn't an option. He's a digimon. Without our partners we're useless against him."

"He's planning to use my soul to create another monster," TK whispered. "What is it like?"

Izzy didn't answer and Davis ground his teeth. "I'm not gonna sit around waiting for Animamon to play his soul voodoo on us. We've got to do something!"

"Last time you tried to fight him, he injured Kari."

"He what?" shouted TK.

Davis clenched his fists. "He used her as a shield," he muttered shamefully.

"She's fine, TK," Izzy reassured. "It's a small puncture wound and it'll heal in a few days, but it's something we should remember. We can't risk doing anything rash in our situation. Animamon is too powerful and our lack of vision is a severe disadvantage. He seems to see just fine in the dark."

"Where is she?" TK's voice was demanding, unconcerned with anything but Kari's well being.

"Over here," Davis mumbled, waiting for TK to follow his voice to Kari's bedside.

TK inhaled sharply when he attempted to move. Davis heard him fumbling around and he knew he was attempting to remove his IV.

"Leave it," he ordered. "I haven't been given anything to drink or eat since yesterday…I think it was yesterday." The reminder made Davis attempt to swallow, but he found his dry mouth poorly lacked in saliva.

"The battle outside has preoccupied Animamon and his minions enough that they seem to have forgotten about our need for nourishment," Izzy added weakly.

"Hopefully it made him forget about using blondie for his soul coction too," Davis grumbled as he heard the wheels of TK's IV post rolling on the ground.

"_Con_coction," corrected TK.

"Whatever."

There was a small thud and "oof" as TK ran into someone's cot. "Walk straight," Davis guided irritably, grabbing the air blindly to find TK's arm so he could tug him along the path he had memorized.

"Here," said Davis when they reached Kari's side. TK pried his arm from his grip and Davis was sure, after he fumbled for a moment, that he had found Kari's lifeless fingers.

"Kari, I'm here with Izzy and Davis too, he's alive!"

"She can't hear you."

TK ignored him. "Don't be afraid, I'm going to get you back."

Davis grumpily collapsed on his cot, hoping his presence would make TK feel uncomfortable if nothing else. Instead, he only found himself feeling worse, realizing that he didn't really belong there, that his time holding Kari's hand was over.

"I know things seem pretty dark right now, but don't give up, ok? I'm not letting you go."

Just as Davis felt his nails biting into his palms a deafening blast knocked him to the floor. His ears were ringing and he choked on the dust, opening his eyes after he wiped away the coat of dirt covering his face. A ray of light pierced through a gaping hole in the ceiling, illuminating their black prison, and through the cloud of falling debris, Davis thought he saw a flash of feathered wings speeding overhead.

It was as if light itself had answered the bearer of hope.

* * *

She walked past TK's bedside in silence, keeping her body rigid in order to prevent her own collapse. She didn't glance at his sleeping form or dare approach him for fear of falling apart. She had to be strong. Tai needed her still.

But for all Kari's pretense of strength, she couldn't utter a single syllable to indicate she was alright. Tai had asked her multiple times, narrowing his tired eyes when she remained silent. She had only stared into the space ahead, sinking further into the hold of his remaining arm.

Being so close to the sleeping blonde was only making things worse. Kari's steps quickened as she passed by Matt's tense back, which only stiffened at the sound of her feet on the floorboards.

She felt like a zombie, dead and disjointed, following no thought or planned motion as she moved to where Ken and Iori sat over Yolei's dying body. The stench of her festering wound was strong enough now to smell from a distance. Yolei's lips were dried and peeling and her face was both flushed and pallid, blotched with sickness.

"She isn't going to make it," whispered Ken as Kari's hand involuntarily pressed against Yolei's burning forehead.

"Don't say that," Iori fired back.

Ken didn't respond, but Kari saw his hand cling more tightly to Yolei's loose hold. Suddenly all Kari could think about was how Davis died saving Yolei only for her to end up like this days later. A burning pit enveloped the cold undead inside her.

"Don't you dare die, Yolei," she ordered, speaking for the first time since TK's body went comatose that morning. "He wanted to keep you alive, don't you dare make his death mean nothing."

"Kari…" Tai's voice tried to call her back, but Kari fell to her knees, still cradling Yolei's forehead in her palm.

"Don't give up," she whispered. It felt as if the words came from someone else, not from her, but _to_ her, fanning the flame in her chest until it engulfed the hopelessness and the zombie she had become completely.

Yolei's small puffs of air became strangled, but her eyes tightened and then slowly peeled open to stare blindly at the faces that surrounded her.

"Yolei," Iori breathed.

It was easy to see that Yolei wasn't really with them, but still trapped in some kind of fever dream. Her parched lips opened and a cracked struggling voice emitted unintelligible words. Her chest rose shallowly and her eyes became glossy.

Kari became vaguely aware of Ken calling Joe's name, of the college freshman and Mimi joining her by Yolei's side, but it was as if they were a million miles away. Kari refused to leave her DNA partner, refused to remove her hand from Yolei's forehead as she let out a final breath.

Hope reached out to her and she latched on as the burn inside her grew like an unquenchable fire. Kari finally recognized it, the bright substance the flowed through her core, filling her with compassion and life and a fiery desire for justice.

The Light blazed in her soul as darkness fell upon them all.

* * *

The black had been penetrated, revealing their underground cell as something more comparable to a dank warehouse with mazes of metal bars. Strangely, the ability to see his sleeping friend's faces didn't make this place feel any less like a dream.

A loud clunk pulled TK's attention to the rafters above where Davis was swinging, using his upper body strength to hoist his boots onto the wall and climb his way on top of a support.

"Careful," TK hissed as Davis's foot slipped.

"I'm fine," Davis grumbled before muttering something under his breath that TK couldn't quite make out. Another explosion shook their prison just as Davis wrapped his legs around a beam, but he managed to hold on.

TK gazed back down to Kari's soulless body, dusting a piece of debris from her silky hair. It had been both a burden and a relief to see her face again.

When the blast had opened a hole in the ceiling, the conditions of their circumstances seemed a bit more dismal than before, if that was even possible. Seeing the long IVs running into the sleeping chosen's arms and the poor condition of Izzy's chained body gave TK a real idea of what type of monster they were dealing with. Bruises and cuts covered the redhead's face and his wrists were raw from days of hanging in his restraints, but all Izzy's injuries didn't compare to the deadened look in his eyes.

Upon seeing his friends in such condition, Davis had ranted that he wasn't waiting for rescue, which was why he was scaling the rafters, attempting to reach the only exit available.

TK took in the sight of the empty cells that lined the barely lit portions of the warehouse. There were at least ten of them the size of the one that held the sleeping chosen, maybe more. Izzy had explained that this was where Animamon had held captive digimon until their souls and bodies were sacrificed to create the creature that he had been a part of.

There was another loud clunk and TK's eyes bolted up to see Davis lying flat on a rafter, hugging it tightly, eyes wide as he stared at the ground below him. TK lightheartedly asked him if he almost fell, but Davis didn't respond. It was as if his vision had been sucked into a black hole, making him oblivious to TK's voice.

TK followed Davis's line of sight and realized that he was watching Yolei. The two of them had been alone together for days before Ken had found them, but that didn't explain the shock that ran across Davis's tan face as he stared at her still form.

TK sat up straighter and saw that Yolei's eyes had opened.

Her lips were shaking and wet tears glistened in the sunlight on her cheeks, but she remained silent, watching Davis balancing above her.

Just as the harsh reality of what had happened to her hit, a door burst open and TK could hear claws scraping against the floor. Davis pressed a finger against his lips to order Yolei to be quiet, but she still hadn't spoken. TK briefly wondered if she thought she was still locked in some sort of fever dream before he felt his body fly into the air.

"I will not allow my world to go unfilled," Animamon shouted, his voice verging on desperation.

TK struggled, but his entire body was frozen, dangling in the air as if held by a noose. Izzy begged with Animamon, arguing that this creature would just die like the last.

Then Animamon stepped into the light and they saw their captor for the first time.

He was not a particularly large digimon, a bit smaller than Angemon in height. A pallid hand reached out from beneath a black robe, long fingernails upturned as if he were holding something. A large hood shielded the majority of Animamon's face, but his jaw line was human in appearance. He reminded TK of images of Death, the reaper of souls. The claws on the floor were not unlike the three-toed foot of a demon, pale with red markings that ran up his ankles until they disappeared behind the dark robe. TK noticed that one foot dragged behind him as if he were injured.

"Hope is strong in you," Animamon growled as he opened their prison door with a simple flick of his wrist. "You may last longer than Izumi and your sacrifice will destroy the light's vessel. I will not lose this battle."

TK clenched his jaw and his eyes flickered upward. Davis, during Animamon's fury, had continued climbing and managed to make it to the hole in the ceiling. The smell of something rancid brought TK's eyes back to Animamon, who was just inches from his face. His jaw lifted and a pair of lips curled back to reveal a row of straight pointed teeth. In an instant, Animamon had grasped TK's skull, digging his long fingernails into his scalp.

"You won't win," TK spat defiantly, fighting the fear in his voice. "You are going to pay for what you've done."

A sadistic chuckle blew rotten air in his face. "Maybe I will…"

Animamon's hood rolled back. Besides the abnormally pale complexion and designs of foreign writing in red across his skin, his hairless face looked human. His high cheek bones and prominent brow were like features TK had seen on men in the street. It was Animamon's eyes that threw him; the dark pupils were clouded by a heavy film of white, wandering aimlessly, unable to meet TK's gaze.

Before TK had a chance to decipher what it meant, the memories came spilling forth, not unlike they had before he woke in this place. All the moments that made him who he was: playing blocks with his big brother, watching his family split apart, meeting Patamon for the first time, protecting Kari from Piedmon, returning to the digital world with the second generation of chosen, his first kiss, betrayal and forgiveness; it was as if everything was being ripped in two.

The pain was unbearable, but in no way physical. There was no feeling in the world to describe the sensation of being pulled apart internally, destroying a part of him that should never be altered by another's hand. TK began to scream, but his throat was constricted, barely able to get out a sound.

Somewhere in reality, outside of the ripping of his soul, TK heard a cracking collision and then he sprawled unconscious to the floor.

* * *

_Red roses. They were cradled in her arm like a child._

_Gatomon had picked them out after Sora explained their meaning. Red was a strong and courageous color, red was passion and love. The heartache and tears in the feline's blue eyes gave away the symbolism she connected to most._

_As they entered the Fuji television station, Kari steadied herself with her brother's hand, feeling herself weighed down by the overwhelming guilt and grief over the sacrifice that Wizardmon had made here years ago. Everyone became silent as their footsteps echoed on the tile floors, entering the only memorial the fallen digimon would ever have._

_It hurt to remember, but it was wrong to forget. _

_Kari was thankful for the warm steady embrace of Tai's strong hand. He looked so young and healthy with both arms there to catch her if she fell, so unlike the broken boy with the bandaged stump._

_The memory caught Kari so sharply that she gasped. _

_How was it that she was comparing his future to the memory of her past? When the others had been pulled into their memories, they didn't mention being able to think freely in them. They were more like movies, replayed perfectly with the same endings they had always had._

"_Tai…" Kari blubbered, but he didn't seem to hear her._

_She glanced around at her fellow chosen and came to tears as she saw Davis standing there, looking so innocent and uncomfortable with the thought of death, but also respectful enough to keep his mouth shut for once. He was so young, still rash and careless as he struggled to lead their newly formed rag-tag team against the Digimon Kaiser._

_This was the place where Wizardmon's ghost would come to tell them of the prophecy. At the time it was gibberish, some code for an event they didn't understand, but now Kari knew it was about him, the boy her brother had passed his goggles on to. _

_She wanted to say something to him, to tell him how much she cared about him, even if it wasn't the same love he hoped to receive from her, but the words were caught in her throat. She found her eyes wandering to TK, whose blonde hair was smashed beneath the white hat he insisted on wearing until they got into high school, and he gave her a sweet, sympathetic smile._

_There they all were, the three boys she cared most about in the world, alive, whole and well._

_It was so bittersweet, seeing them like this again, but also dealing with the grief that she shared with Gatomon and knowing that this was only a memory. Davis was gone, her brother mutilated, and TK… lost._

_Suddenly a rush of hot light pursed through her soul, speaking hope, and promising a future. It was brilliant – comforting and fierce, gentle and powerful. Its words were silent, but understood. _

The darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.

_Kari held onto her brother's right hand tightly and waited to wake._

* * *

The moments following the collision were chaos. His eyes still hadn't adjusted to the bright light that streamed in through the ceiling, but even squinting, Izzy could see consequences of the courageous action that released TK from Animamon's grip.

Davis had loosened a large chunk of debris from the ceiling and flung it with all his might at the digimon. The force caught Animamon completely off guard, causing a bit of digital blood to trickle down the monster's forehead, but it also clipped TK.

He still hadn't woken.

Izzy watched helplessly as Animamon retaliated, prying Davis from the rafters with a simple movement of his hand and dangling him the air, not unlike the way Puppetmon had controlled their bodies with invisible strings. Izzy pulled the cuffs against his chaffed wrists, tearing open scabs in his attempt to escape, to distract Animamon before he killed one of his friends for good, but what use would he be if he broke free? Izzy wasn't even sure he could stand on his own.

That's when the screaming began.

Izzy hadn't known she was awake until that moment. Yolei cried out like a crazed animal. Her wild eyes darted behind her glasses and her parched lips begged for this all to end, claimed that she had been tortured enough, pleaded for death before she had to watch him die again. She didn't seem to comprehend that this was real or notice the pained expression in Davis's eyes, not caused by Animamon's grip, but by her words.

"You've been dropping like flies," Animamon laughed maniacally. "It is just as well, only more souls for use before the end. My world doesn't need memories any longer, it is so near completion." He smiled in Yolei's direction, revealing a row of sharp pointed teeth behind his lips. "Come, girl."

"No!" bellowed Davis, his hands twitching to fight against the hold he was in.

Just as a new scream escaped her, the whole building shook. Collapsing stone, warping metal bars and intense heat licked at Izzy's face, drenching him with sweat.

An enormous brown horned skull tore through the wall, stopping only feet away from where Izzy hung. Red eyes widened in surprise and the burning that was building in the massive mouth died away. A huge tear bubbled inside the skull as the head lifted, breaking carelessly through the ceiling.

"They're here!" its voice growled with a kind of choked emotion.

"You better not have squashed them, Greymon! We're supposed to be on a rescue mission!"

The second voice had Izzy sharing Greymon's tears. Kabuterimon. Their partners had come to save them, but it wasn't his partner that he saw walk through the rubble Greymon created.

A tan hand drew back a fawn hood from the figure's face. Gennai was still in his younger form, but he had aged some since he had last seen him. Wrinkle lines flecked the corners of his mouth and eyes as he smiled sadly at Izzy.

"Sorry we took so long."

Behind him, Izzy could vaguely make out the other chosen digimon as well as a number of digimon allies he recognized. Some were still engaged in battle, but most were waiting to break into their prison.

Animamon halted in his attack on Yolei and Davis dropped to the floor, letting out a painful gush of air when he landed. What sounded like ExVeemon's voice shouted his name, though no one but Gennai had yet stepped into their cell.

"You will not defeat me," Animamon roared. "The others are still hostage in my world."

"Not all of them," the deep majestic voice of Angemon boomed as he stepped through the rubble. He was cradling something in his large arms and upon seeing TK's unconscious body, he handed the bundle to Gennai. Gatomon slumped into his arms, her pure white coat stained with red around her shoulder blade.

It was hard to see the emotion in Angemon's face, his mask shielded his eyes, but his mouth was stretched into a tight thin line. "Prepare for justice," he said.

Animamon laughed as Angemon stood still before him. "A champion, even an angel of the chosen, will not defeat me."

"You're right."

The words that seemed like defeat were accompanied by a blinding white light and Izzy had to close his eyes so he remained unsure of its source. All sound became dull and soft and only a wailing desperate cry pierced through the calming tone that deafened him.

Then the light faded just enough for him to dare to open his sensitive lenses.

It was as if a ball of sunshine stood before him, its flames dancing off the skin of the small girl. A large winged figure was beside her, hand outstretched as if holding the wraps of light that were binding Animamon's body to the wall. Only the stain of blood on the winged creature's shoulder helped Izzy recognize that this was Angewomon, and beside her was her partner, awake and powerful and wrapped in light.

"But the vessel was too weak! How are you using her?" Animamon cried out.

"It only takes a single flame of hope to spark a light in the darkness," Kari replied, her voice far older than her years, both beautiful and terrifying.

A final binding of light wrapped around Animamon's mouth, silencing his cries of hatred and then the glow left Kari and she collapsed in her partner's arms.

* * *

"TK! TK! You promised you'd be fine! TK!"

Davis moaned, willing for the screeching voice to stop, and then sucked in a sharp breath of pain as he moved his arm to smack it away. His face scrunched up as the pain shot from his wrist to his elbow, he was pretty sure it was broken.

He opened his eyes to see Patamon batting his little ear-wings ferociously, hovering above TK's unconscious body. Davis was relieved to see the blonde stir, happy that he hadn't killed him.

"Patamon?" TK mumbled, clutching the lump on his head as he sat up.

The little pig flew into his arms. "I felt it, TK! He was trying to tear you to pieces. I thought I was going to lose you forever!" Patamon sobbed.

TK squeezed his partner gently as his eyes darted around the room, trying to piece things together. He caught Davis's gaze and Davis tore his eyes away quickly, pushing himself to his feet.

There were minor explosions rocking outside, someone was still fighting, but it sounded more distant than before. Davis scanned their surroundings. Rubble littered their prison. Andromon had joined the chosen digimon and cut through Izzy's chains, causing the weak redhead to collapse into Gennai's arms as Tentomon hovered over him, looking about as emotional as a digital bug could.

Animamon struggled against bindings of light in vain while Greymon growled hot breath over his body.

Davis searched for his partner, but didn't see a sign of the blue dragon anywhere.

"ExVeemon and Stingmon got caught up in a fight with some devidramon, Centarumon is helping them out," Patamon squeaked from TK's arms, noticing the distress on Davis's face.

Davis could only nod voicelessly, and he almost took off to assist his partner when he remembered what had happened before he fell. Clutching his injured wrist, he turned to see Yolei in a daze, her face covered in smudges of dirt streaked with tiny rivulets. Hawkmon was holding her hands in his wings, urging her to snap out of it.

"Tai! Your arm!"

That was Sora's voice. Davis whipped around to see Tai remove his right hand from his forehead and stare at his arm in bewilderment.

The others had woken up.

"Yolei!" Without a concern about where they were or what had happened, Ken had yanked himself out of his cot and crushed Yolei into his arms. "You were… I saw you- are you ok?" he gushed, checking her forehead to see if she had a fever, her chest for the gaping wound that Davis had seen the creature inflict on her before he dived in the way.

Yolei's eyes wandered over Ken's shoulder and Davis found himself staring into them, watching hopeless tears fall from her unblinking lids. Her lips moved as if she was trying to speak and then finally, he heard one word scratch its way from her throat.

"Davis…"

Ken pulled away from her and turned around sharply.

Davis slowly lifted up a hand in greeting. "Hey."

"You're dead…" Yolei breathed.

"No more than you are," Davis said, attempting to joke, but his voice came out thick and shaky.

A hand clamped his shoulder from behind and he looked up to see Gennai who had left Izzy in the care of Tentomon. "You're all alive," he reassured them, looking around at the confused, disoriented children attached to IVs. "We'll explain what happened once we have this building secured."

Gennai released Davis's shoulder and made his rounds to the freshly woken children, gently removing the needles from their arms.

Davis took a staggered step forward.

Yolei didn't wait for Gennai to reach her; she yanked the IV out of her arm, ignoring Hawkmon's protests and the blood and stumbled until she collapsed in Davis's arms, bawling uncontrollably. He held back small gasps of pain as she pressed against his injured wrist. His other hand found its way to her long tangled hair and he wove his fingers into it.

"You jackass," Yolei sobbed into his shirt. "You promised me you wouldn't do anything stupid."

"I-I'm sorry..."

Another pair of arms wrapped the two of them up and Davis felt his eyes sting at Ken's presence. He winced as he shuffled his injured arm out from Yolei's tense grip and wrapped it around Ken's middle, overwhelmed at how happy he was to see their bodies filled with life again.

There were shouts of reunion and unbelief as Gennai freed each chosen from their IV, the others had begun to realize he was alive, that TK was alive. Davis glanced over Yolei's shoulder to see the blonde grasping Kari tightly as she came to.

"You called me," she was whispering to him, finally returning the hold he had on her. "You told me not to give up."

Then those beautiful bright brown eyes flickered up to Davis and every muscle in his body tensed. He felt Ken and then Yolei slowly release their hold on him as TK glanced back in his direction.

There was a nonverbal communication between them. TK nodded and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly as he whispered something in Kari's ear. Davis wasn't sure who ran to who, but when his arms tightened around Kari's petite frame and her happy cries that he was alive filled his ears, Davis felt a heavy weight lift from his shoulders.

"I'm sorry I was such a jerk," he mumbled only to be more tightly embraced.

There was a firm slap on his back as Tai joined them and Davis saw joyful tears swimming in his mentor's eyes. When Kari released him to embrace her brother, crying violently upon seeing his restored arm, Davis let out the breath he had been holding.

* * *

After all the chosen children were released or being attended to, Gennai had explained what they knew about Animamon's plans and Izzy painstakingly filled in the gaps as Joe began treating his external injuries.

Tai was furious, pacing back and forth in front of Animamon and flexing the fingers on his right hand, still in disbelief that it was back. He patted Greymon's huge skull firmly and felt pain shoot through the limb.

"I should let Greymon tear into you," he growled, "One bite at a time."

The hooded figure's cloudy eyes only stared past him, his mouth still bound by a layer of light.

"He looks disgusting," rumbled Greymon, "but I'd force myself to chew slowly."

Their words got no rise out of their prisoner and Tai blew out a loud huff of frustration before returning to the cot where Izzy now lied. Joe had bandaged one of his raw wrists and was rubbing a salve that Gennai provided on the other.

"I'm sorry about your arm," Izzy muttered when he saw him approach, his dark eyes were sunken and distant.

Tai still couldn't believe that his friend had somehow been inside the creature he killed. It made him sick to his stomach.

"It's not your fault, Izzy."

"Yes it is. If I hadn't developed that program none of this would've happened."

"I'm sure that creep would've pulled something eventually," Tai spat, glaring in Animamon's direction.

"He should've only taken me, none of you deserved this."

"Shhhh," Mimi soothed. She was holding Izzy's hand and Tai felt his eyes threaten to water at the memory of their conversation, the worry that they may never see the redhead alive again. "Don't talk like that. You've suffered enough."

Izzy closed his eyes as if to block out her voice and Tentomon buzzed in the air, landing on the foot of the cot.

"I dreamt about you," Tai blurted. "That you were trapped here."

Izzy slowly opened his lids. "Your subconscious wanted to find me I guess."

Tai had to bite his lip to keep from yelling. The spaced out look in Izzy's eyes reminded him so much of that dream, of the time that he had seen Izzy pop up on his computer screen so many years ago, telling him not to come back, to let them all succumb to their fate.

"I'm not letting you suffer for this!" Tai burst out, unable to contain himself. "That damn monster is going to fix whatever the hell he did to you!"

"He won't."

The sureness in Izzy's voice made Tai storm off in the direction of Animamon, fists clenched tightly. He had no qualms about using his knuckles to solve this problem. He was only inches away from the creep when he lifted up his hand only to have a wave of vines wrap around his wrist, yanking him backward. He fell on his backside and jerked around, trying to pull free.

"Damn it, Palmon!"

"Mimi told me to do it," the green digimon defended, looking apologetic.

Tai fixed his glare on the girl still holding Izzy's hand.

"Tai, don't," she ordered. Her normally sparkling eyes were hard. "We'll take care of him, but right now we need to worry about Izzy."

"Yeah, we'll take care of him alright," Davis spoke up gruffly from the other side of the cell where Yolei and Ken were working on bandaging his broken wrist. "Leave some for the rest of us, Tai."

"What are we waiting for?" Tai huffed. "Let's just finish him off now."

"No." The voice came from Kari and Tai unclenched his fist. He gave his arm a little jerk and Palmon finally released him. "He can't be destroyed until he releases the souls he's gathered," Kari continued as she stroked Gatomon, who had curled up in her lap like a housecat.

"We need to understand how he did it," Iori added. He and Armadillomon were picking through debris. "He didn't just create a world and take our souls; he took us from our homes and brought us into the digital world, he made copies of us. How?"

A mad muffled chuckle rose from beneath the binding of light that held Animamon to the wall.

Tai's face tightened with anger as he turned to the captive digimon, but before he could make a move, a small hand reached in front of his face. He politely took it, allowing Sora to help pull him to his feet. He could barely hide the blush on his cheeks as her fingers traced the lines of his palm, as if checking to make sure it was real.

"I'm sorry," she murmured quietly so the others couldn't hear. His fingers slowly slid from her grasp, one by one. "I just wanted to make sure I wasn't dreaming."

"It's over." The declaration from Matt drew the blush from Tai's cheeks and he turned to see the blonde riding Garurumon back through the rubble.

They were accompanied by Centarumon, the masked horse-man whose body was flecked with purple muscles that acted as armor. His hoofed feet echoed as he climbed the debris. "All Animamon's allies were taken prisoner or destroyed. We acquired minimal casualties."

"Casualties?" Tai asked, without daring to ask who.

"Many brave digimon willingly gave their lives to save the chosen children. We owe you everything," Andromon's robotic voice carried from where he was guarding the entrance.

Matt's blonde eyebrows knitted together as he slid from Garurumon's back. "It's a war zone out there."

The thought of digimon dying, of their friends fighting for them while they lied sleeping, their minds occupied with their teenage drama, made Tai wish he could take back everything he had done over the past week. His right hand clenched and he swore he could still feel the throbbing agony of the limb that had been cut away from him. If only he had found a portal, some way out of that place, before lives were lost, before he was mangled, before Davis and Yolei had to suffer through death.

"How did we get back?" Tai asked suddenly, trying to make sense of the questions in his head. "We tried to find a portal, we tried to fight it, but we couldn't. If Animamon didn't bring us back, who did?"

Gennai reappeared through the rubble, holding the tiny sleeping forms of DemiVeemon and Minomon in his arms. Ken left Davis and Yolei to grab them and when he returned to Davis to deposit DemiVeemon in his arms, Davis's good hand balled into a tight fist.

"The Light," answered Gennai.

Tai felt his eyes drawn to his sister, who at fifteen was still just a child. Her small hand was gently rubbing Gatomon's ear. So he hadn't imagined her glowing then. It wasn't the first time Kari had possessed (or been possessed by) some remarkable power that they couldn't explain.

"What is it?" asked Iori.

Gennai's tired face grew reverent. "The master of the Sovereigns, the creator of worlds."

"Light gives life to the world," TK murmured, repositioning the ice pack on the lump on his head.

"Azulongmon told us that once," Patamon added.

"It's why so many have threatened Kari. She is its vessel, the only one open to receiving its power."

"Why didn't you tell us this before?" Tai practically shouted at Gennai.

"Do you mean all the times… Myotismon… the dark ocean…" Kari seemed to be forming her thoughts aloud, "they were trying to keep the light from using me?"

"Or harness the power themselves."

Tai jabbed a finger in Animamon's direction. "Is that what _he_ was trying to do?"

Gennai and the others looked to the bound monster. "No, I don't think so."

A deep throaty laughter rumbled beneath the binds of light and Animamon's clouded pupils rose to the ceiling, as if seeing some invisible force. The sunlight that streamed in through the holes in the warehouse stopped shining as a dark cloud rolled in overhead, but something foreboding in Animamon's laughter warned Tai that this was no normal storm.

Soon, nothing illuminated their prison except for the light that held Animamon captive.

Greymon's breath grew hot as a nova blast formed in the back of his throat.

"What are you doing?" Tai shouted at their prisoner.

The gag of light slowly dissolved away from Animamon's mouth and his pale lips peeled back to reveal a smile of sharp teeth.

"I only wanted to see."


	30. Deeper

**Innocent Games**

**Chapter Thirty  
Deeper**

* * *

Everything was still so like a dream. She had spent her last few days hovering between reality and hallucinations and death. Even the weight of his injured arm resting on her thigh as she finished wrapping it with tape or the small gasp of pain on his lips was unreal. She was just waiting for him to fall apart, for the bandage to come undone and reveal a hand dangling by threads of flesh, for blood to swim down his chin as he spoke.

"What the hell is he doing?" Davis jumped to his feet, forcing Yolei to tear her eyes away from his face.

She turned to watch each binding of light restraining Animamon unravel and dissolve into the unnatural darkness. The digimon's laughter echoed around them, bouncing off the broken walls of the warehouse prison until they were surrounded by the sound.

Everyone was poised for battle, ready to attack or digivolve in a moment's notice and Tentomon hovered protectively above Izzy's beaten and malnourished body. Greymon unleashed a nova blast just as the final light went out and it burst against Animamon, engulfing him in flame.

"Prepare yourselves," ordered Gennai.

"For what? Ashes?" raved Tai. "That was a direct hit!"

"That won't be enough to defeat him," Izzy murmured.

The flames of the nova blast slowly died away, leaving them in the dark.

"Where is he?" Matt's voice called.

The thick black air smothered her, stealing the breath from her lungs. Yolei grabbed desperately in front of her, clutching feathers in between her fingers.

"I want to wake up," she whimpered. She took a deep gulp, but couldn't find air. "Please let me wake up," she gasped.

The feathers struggled in her grip. "Yolei! You _are_ awake!" cried Hawkmon.

No, Hawkmon wasn't there. No one was. It was just her alone in her dream world, where Davis was alive, but really dead, where the darkness consumed her and brought all her feelings to life. She closed her eyes, trying to force herself to wake. She knew if she opened them again in this nightmare, the creature would appear, clawing its way through her chest.

"Yolei, try to take a deep breath, you're hyperventilating," Ken's voice soothed.

Behind his gentle words there was a chorus of shouts, but they were muffled by the sound of her own struggling gasps. A cool soft touch on her cheek forced her to open her eyes. Light flickered across Ken's pale skin and behind him she could see that Greymon had lit a small fire in the debris.

Animamon was gone.

Yolei took in a long shaky breath and slowly loosened her hold on Hawkmon.

Ken removed his hand from her cheek and Davis came into her vision, a tight frown stretched across his tan face. Yolei adjusted her glasses, but it took a few more breaths before she felt like she wasn't suffocating.

"Are you ok?" Iori had joined their group, Armadillomon at his heels.

Hawkmon flew to the side just in time to avoid being squished between them.

"I-I'll be fine," Yolei stammered, squeezing Iori tightly until Armadillomon made a crack about needing to resuscitate his partner.

Iori looked a little blue in the face, but his bright green eyes were only filled with joyful relief. Yolei vaguely remembered how he had begged her to keep fighting to stay alive through her feverish haze.

"I'm sorry," she apologized for more than her tight grip.

Iori shook his head to dismiss her.

"Stay alert," Tai hollered. "He could be anywhere."

"Up an' at 'em, buddy." Davis bounced DemiVeemon in his good arm. "We got some ass to kick."

"Five more minutes, Davis…" the little blue digimon mumbled sleepily. His wide red eyes suddenly popped open and then, as if jolted by electricity, he jumped into the air and flung himself onto Davis's face. "Davis! Davis!"

Davis pried him off. "Woah there."

"I told Wormmon I would rescue you! I did, didn't I?"

"Sure did."

Little pools formed in DemiVeemon's eyes. "I-I missed you!"

"We were afraid we'd never see you again," Hawkmon added forlornly, glancing up at Yolei.

Yolei felt tears sting her lids as she latched onto her partner, but Davis only said, "Enough with the mushy stuff. Animamon's loose. We gotta go after him!"

"Lemme at 'im!" DemiVeemon squirmed out of Davis's hold and jumped to the floor, attempting to make his tiny stature intimidating. "Now that you and Ken are here, Imperialdramon can teach him a lesson! Wake up, Minomon!"

The in-training digimon in Ken's arms stirred and his single antenna lifted into the air. When he realized who was holding him, small squeals of delight emitted from his tiny mandible. Ken didn't hold his composure as well as Davis at their reunion.

"They'll both need something to eat before they can digivolve again," Gennai spoke up, smiling warmly as he held out some bread and dried fish which DemiVeemon and Minomon dug into without hesitation.

"Aw, where's mine?" Armadillomon pouted.

"We need to send for more provisions, the battle lasted longer than we anticipated and we lost our last food shipment in a fire. The weakest will need to eat first to get back their strength."

"I'm not weak!" chirped DemiVeemon through a mouthful of food.

"Course not," Davis chuckled. He was cut short as Gennai handed him a piece of bread as well. He frowned, but began tearing into it a second later, ignoring the look of envy Armadillomon was shooting him.

"You may also require these," Andromon said, pulling digivices and D-terminals from a metal compartment in his body. "Animamon had set up a firewall in order to block their signal from reaching the outside, but I was able to reprogram them."

When Yolei claimed her D-terminal, her inbox contained messages from Iori when he, Joe, and Mimi had first left her alone with Davis. All the messages she had sent after that point, however, were absent from her sent box.

"They were copies… like us," Ken mused, noticing the confusion on her face. "It's possible that they were linked to our real digivices. That may be why they were working at first, Animamon probably implemented his firewall once we entered into our memories."

"We're going to scout outside. My bet is this guy is looking to free some of his allies," Tai declared, flexing the fingers on his right hand before patting Greymon's skull. "You coming, Garurumon?"

The wolf snarled a smile and looked to his partner whose lips had lifted at the corner.

"Yeah, we're coming," Matt answered.

"So are we!" Mimi stood abruptly and quite a few jaws hung open from shock as she looked to Palmon to make sure she agreed.

The green digimon looked just as stunned.

"You'll be ok with Izzy, won't you, Joe?"

"Woah! Is she asking your permission?" Gomamon guffawed, earning a glare from Mimi. "You finally told her how you feel _and_ you're in charge? Way to go!"

Joe ignored his partner's quips. He only nodded at Mimi and his glasses slid to the bottom of his nose, but he just let them sit there, watching blindly as she stormed up to the two champions and their partners. Sora and Biyomon took her place beside Izzy.

"Uh… Mimi, you sure you don't want to stay here and uh… regroup?" asked Tai.

"I want to fight."

Tai looked at Matt for help, but the blonde only shrugged and said, "Let's go."

"Wait up!" Davis belted out through a mouthful of bread, spraying crumbs all over Armadillomon's shell. "I'm coming too!"

"No!"

The protest had left Yolei's lips before she had time to process what she was saying. Her face grew hot and she stammered, trying to explain the need to keep him in her sight, to know that he was safe.

"It's best if you stay here for now," Gennai interceded. "ExVeemon and Stingmon spent a lot of energy in the last part of the battle with Animamon's reinforcements. We need them to recuperate."

Davis wasn't listening; he was staring at Yolei with the same shade of red on his cheeks. She tore her eyes away, ruffling Hawkmon's feathers until he began objecting.

"Animamon could still be in here for all we know. I mean he just frickin' disappeared," Davis grumbled under his breath though there wasn't much argument in his tone.

"Don't worry, Davis," Tai smiled fondly at his protégé. "If we get him, we'll leave some for you."

Davis ripped off another bite of bread with his teeth.

"Be careful!" Kari shouted as Tai climbed onto Greymon's shoulder. She looked exhausted and frail, cradling Gatomon in her arms. When TK put a reassuring hand on her shoulder Yolei noticed Davis shovel the heel of bread into his mouth even though it was too big to fit. This, of course, sent him into a coughing fit and Ken gently hammered his back until he could breathe again.

Centarumon followed Tai and company out of the underground warehouse and his words informing them of what they had done with Animamon's sympathizers slowly faded as the group disappeared into the darkness.

Yolei suddenly found herself storming through digimon and human to sit beside Izzy. He was covering his eyes with his hand. "The darkness," she breathed out heavily, "Was it part of your program?"

The hand slowly slid from his face and his dark sunken eyes fixed themselves on her. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yolei! What's gotten into you? You almost stepped on Minomon!" Hawkmon chastised as he flew to her side.

"When we were taken from our world every emotion I've ever felt was torn out of me and…" Yolei took in another deep breath to keep herself steady, deciding against describing the palpable form the emotions had taken, "… and then there was this darkness… a black world. Was that part of the program?"

"No, I don't believe so."

Gennai sat on a free cot, folding his hands across his lap. "We've been studying Animamon's capabilities ever since we discovered the cult he formed."

"A cult?" asked TK.

"Yes, the world that he's created using your memories is an idea that he's implanted among several unhappy digimon groups: ones that didn't understand what had happened to the digital world when the destiny stones were destroyed, some that only heard rumors of how the chosen children from earth had been involved, who didn't know the whole story. Some of these digimon even related their hardships all the way back to the Kaiser."

Yolei felt her heart to go out to Ken when she saw him look in shame to the ground. Would he never be able to rid himself of his past?

"But these digimon knew how powerful the combination of humans and digimon could be," continued Gennai. "Animamon convinced them to use the chosen children to create an ideal world. A world that combined earth with the digiworld and a race of beings made of human and digital souls.

"His followers didn't realize that he would be using them for these new creatures. It was his biggest mistake. Harvesting his own followers left him with a thin line of defense that we finally were able to break through."

"How sick," Sora interjected in disgust.

"Soul manipulation is Animamon's greatest power. I believe that when he created a portal to bring you from your world into the digital world he simultaneously extracted your souls. Therefore, you have no recollection of being brought to this place."

"So the feelings Yolei was talking about… that happened as soon as we were taken from our world, before we came to. Is that because our souls were in some type of limbo?" Joe asked.

"That would be a fair assumption."

"So why make copies of us?" wondered Ken. "Why wouldn't he just bring our real bodies to that place?"

"He couldn't transport physical bodies into an incomplete world," Izzy ventured.

Gennai nodded. "Animamon anticipated our retaliation. He most likely wanted his world to continue to be created by your memories even if we came to your rescue. Since he couldn't bring your bodies to his world, he used your souls and memories to create replicas inside Izzy's program. If your physical bodies here were just empty shells, we could do nothing to save you, only Animamon could bring your souls back… or the Light."

Several glances were cast in Kari's direction and Yolei realized what she had seen, Kari and Angewomon burning with a blinding light, wasn't part of her fever dream. It made her panic that much more real.

"But what about the darkness? The black world? What about _this_?" Yolei gestured to where the bright sun of the digital world had been blotted out by black.

"It's him," Izzy spoke up, gazing at the dark sky through the hole in the ceiling. "My program created a world based on memories and dreams. Animamon had to have a place to bring your souls to, a place to create the replicas of your bodies in. His world was already in the process of creation before you were brought there. He built it using his own memories first."

"That doesn't make sense!" Yolei argued. "That place couldn't have been the world we were in all this time, there was nothing there! Who has memories of only darkness?"

"Someone who can't see," Gennai answered. "Animamon is blind."

* * *

Outside the darkness seemed even more unnatural than it had in their prison. If it was night, then the moon and stars were blotted out, but not by clouds. It was as if shroud of black was covering the digital world.

"Nothing we haven't seen before," Tai grumbled.

"You'd think he'd come up with something more original. Every bad guy wants to cover the world in darkness," Greymon agreed.

"It's the greatest enemy of Light," explained Centarumon.

Matt surveyed their surroundings lit only by the flames of fire spurting from Greymon's nostrils; he could barely see more than a few steps ahead. Under the sunlight, he and Garurumon had ventured among the ruins of what looked like a fortress of tall windowless warehouses surrounded by what was left of a giant wall. Tendrils of smoke wisped into the sky and rubble littered the ground, remnants of the battle that had been fought to save them.

A heavy sensation filled Matt's chest. "Who did we lose?"

Garurumon growled sadly. "A few good friends."

Before he could elaborate, Mimi bolted ahead of them.

"Mimi, wait!" Palmon shouted, chasing after her.

"Ogremon!"

"Ogremon?" Tai asked, squinting in an attempt to see through the dark.

Greymon snorted, lighting up their surroundings with flames. Sure enough, they could see that Mimi had impaled herself on the large green monster who began blushing furiously and rubbing his club against the back of his head. When she finally released him, Ogremon surveyed her company.

"Where's the doc?"

"He's still inside," Mimi said. There was a tinge of pink on her cheeks just barely visible in the firelight.

"Whew! I thought you kids were goners for sure."

"Ogremon," Matt interrupted, "Animamon escaped. We think he might be trying to free his allies."

"Ha, I'm sure he is," Ogremon grunted. "None of these guys are gettin' by me, though. Not after the beating they got." He swung his club backwards, motioning behind him.

Slits of red were glowing in the darkness.

"Let's see who we've got here," Tai said. "Greymon…"

A nova blast lit up a pile of rubble, casting firelight against Ogremon's prisoners. Devidramon, at least a dozen or more, were locked in a line of chain, defeated but still enormous as they towered over all but Greymon. They were black dragons with tattered wings and red claws, their shoulders sported images of human skulls and each had four red eyes that gleamed in the night.

"The many eyed demon," Centarumon said, his one eye glancing over the chained monsters. "Don't look directly into their gaze."

"These guys just love bad dudes," Tai remarked as Greymon lowered him to the ground.

Matt remembered his first real encounter with a group of devidramon, back when Gatomon had worked for Myotismon and they stood between the chosen children and the gate that would lead them back home. The next time he saw one was under the digimon Kaiser. Despite their massive size, they were only champions. Garurumon had managed to take one out before, but there were so many…

"Devidramon were crawling all over the place when we got here," Palmon said, her forest eyes narrowing as they watered with angry tears, "They deleted Elecmon."

Mimi's hands flew to her mouth. "No!"

Matt slid from Garurumon's back. "Why was he here fighting?" Fingernails dug into his palms. "Who's going to take care of the babies in primary village?"

"Elecmon volunteered for the rescue mission. Despite his size he wanted to do everything in his power to save you. We couldn't deny him that," Centarumon answered.

"Little guy had a lot of guts," added Ogremon.

"He raised another Elecmon to take his place in case anything were to happen to him."

"Damn it," Tai muttered. "I was so worried about what was happening to us… and all this time we were just sleeping while our friends were dying."

"We didn't know," Mimi sniffled, wiping away tears.

"And we weren't just sleeping," Matt added, his eyes drifting to Tai's restored arm. He struggled to push away memories of spurting blood and torn muscle that churned his stomach.

The fingers on Tai's right hand flexed tensely and there was a visible grimace on his face. "Yeah."

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you," Greymon muttered sadly.

"No apologies. You saved us, didn't you?"

Greymon huffed and smoke slithered between his teeth.

"So, what should we do with these guys?" Ogremon asked, hammering his club into his palm.

Tai glanced over the restrained devidramon. "We should destroy them."

"But," Mimi began to protest.

"I thought you wanted to fight." Tai raised an eyebrow at her.

"I do! I want to _fight _the bad guys, not murder them!"

"Animamon might release them," Matt interjected. "One isn't a problem, but this many?"

A pout was forming on the girl's lips.

"They killed Elecmon, Mimi."

"But they're just prisoners now! They're always being used by somebody, maybe if I could talk to them…"

"I've never heard a devidramon speak," Centarumon said. "They're creatures of the Dark Area, they have no compassion."

One of the digimon shifted, dragging its long red claws into the earth and its lips curled back in a snarl, almost resembling a smile.

"We've had to kill before. Hell, we've killed devidramon before!"

"But they were _fighting_ us, not chained prisoners!"

"Would you rather have them loose?"

The darkness around them seemed to grow heavy as Tai and Mimi continued to argue about the fate of the captives. Their words faded as Matt watched the chained digimon twitch restlessly. His thoughts began to wander to images of TK's comatose body and the terror he felt at the possibility of losing his little brother without even having a chance to save him. Despite all the threats they had faced, there were few things Matt had experienced that came close to the hopelessness that had wreaked havoc among them in Animamon's world. Images of the past few days took over his vision until he could no longer see reality: Yolei's sick and dying body, the despair on Ken's face and the emptiness he felt when they were told about Davis's death.

Matt shook his head when Garurumon asked if he was ok, but the images kept coming… Tai's severed limb and broken apologies… and Sora…

_They were in his bedroom and the color of her cheeks blended in with the strands of hair that swept against them. She was wearing his shirt; the loose cotton fell gently over her curves and looked better on her than it ever would on him. She fiddled nervously with the buttons and a shy smile formed on her face. _

_"Matt…" _

_Her skin was flush and warm to the touch when he grabbed her hands and pressed his lips against each of her fingertips. _

_"I love you," she said. _

_And he believed her._

The familiar clawing rapture of his soul took hold, digging its way deeper into the moment.

"Animamon!" Matt managed to choke out a warning, but his voice was so quiet that he was sure no one had heard him.

A mixture of fury and despair flooded into his thoughts as the memory lingered into the kisses and words that followed, now tainted with the power of the one who had brought it to the surface. How dare Animamon touch that memory, a memory that he may never be able to recreate. It was like violating the one he had shared it with.

"Get out of my head!" Matt wasn't sure if his scream was aloud or in his mind.

Memories began to flash in rapid succession, some were happy, but the painful ones held longer until they were squeezed dry: he saw his family breaking apart, his friendships, his relationships, like everything eventually would… and then the images came to a sudden stop and his eyes bolted open to meet four flashing pupils of red.

* * *

The clang of snapping metal jolted Mimi from her passionate argument with Tai and they both turned in time to see the devidramon's tail barreling down at their blonde companion who stood frozen in its path.

"Matt!" Tai hollered.

With a sound like clashing swords, the tip of the tail opened into three prongs. Palmon's vines yanked Matt out of the way just as Garurumon dove between him and his assailant, catching the devidramon's tail in his teeth. Matt hit the ground with a heavy thud, but his blue eyes remained wide, focused on some unseen horror.

"Matt!" Tai dropped to his knees beside his limp body and Greymon rushed into battle, colliding into the side of the freed devidramon as Garurumon played tug o' war with its tail.

"He looked directly into the gaze of the devidramon," Centarumon explained as Mimi kneeled beside them.

"Why isn't he waking up?" Ogremon asked over his shoulder as he watched the remaining devidramon carefully, club at the ready. "I thought the paralysis only lasted as long as those guys kept staring."

"The effect must be different for humans."

A scratchy screaming howl emitted from the devidramon as it burst into data. Then a chorus of bending and snapping metal reverberated across the battlefield and the remaining devidramon screeched, spreading the black wings on their backs.

"What's happening?" cried Mimi.

Centarumon raised his metallic arm toward the creatures. "Something is giving the devidramon energy!"

"We have to destroy them all! Now!" Tai growled and jumped to his feet. "Greymon, digivolve!"

"About time!"

Mimi turned to Matt's frozen gaze and guilt cascaded through her limbs as they were immersed in the orange glow of Greymon's digivolution.

"Mimi! I have to help them!" Palmon shouted.

Both Ogremon and Centarumon had joined the fight as the devidramon broke free, but they were quickly overcome by the mass of the beasts, barely holding their own as the monsters encircled them.

Fighting. This is what she wanted to do, wasn't it? She felt that old familiar desire to preserve life above anything else as she watched Palmon wait impatiently for permission to join the fight she had only moments ago been so desperate to be a part of.

"Be careful!" Mimi finally cried. She was covered with light as Palmon digivolved to Togemon and sprayed a flurry of needles into an oncoming devidramon.

Its four eyes glowed crimson, but Togemon rammed her boxing glove into its face before the stun took effect and a giga blast from MetalGreymon scattered its data. Mimi threw up her hands, shielding her face as the explosion sent rubble and stones tearing through the air. When the debris settled, her arms were covered in small scratches. Matt had been cut just above his brow and blood was swimming down into his unblinking eye, coating it in a film of red.

"You ok?" Tai shouted, dodging beneath MetalGreymon's tail as he collided with a tag-team of the black dragons.

Mimi attempted to wipe the blood from Matt's eye with the bottom of her shirt, but only succeeding in smearing it across his face. "Wake up, Matt…come on…" When there was no response she shouted back, "Matt's hurt!"

"Garurumon! Get Matt back to the others. We need reinforcements!" Tai ordered.

The wolf was struggling beneath a devidramon's clawed grip and his teeth were buried in one of its massive fingers. His yellow eyes darted back to his partner in agony and he shook the devidramon's finger like a rag doll, ripping open a gaping wound and filling his mouth with blood. He bolted as soon as the devidramon pulled back its hand and then scurried up to Matt, burying his long nose under his limp body and gently rolling him onto his back.

Mimi watched as they sped off, flying into the darkness lit by burning flames. She heard a loud screeching growl and her hair blew back from a gust of air as two devidramon took off into the air in pursuit of Garurumon. They gained ground quickly as the wolf scrambled over the ruins of Animamon's fortress, trying not to knock his unconscious passenger from his back.

"Tai!" she shouted. "They're gaining on him!"

"Shit!" Tai cursed. "MetalGreymon! Can you hit them from here?"

At that moment a devidramon sunk its teeth into one of the MetalGreymon's arms, swinging its sharp tail around dangerously, attempting to impale some unarmored part of the android dinosaur. "Arrrgghhhh, I'm a little preoccupied here, Tai!"

Togemon had joined Ogremon and Centarumon and they were making headway, scattering data as yet another devidramon fell.

"How many of these guys did you say there were?" the giant cactus grunted as she wrapped her spiked arms around another one, wrestling with it.

Mimi turned back to Garurumon; she could only see flashes of his outline as red beams shot out of the devidramon's eyes and created as small crater in his path. Just as he jumped over the hole, another beam came down and made contact with the fleshy end of his back thigh, sending him flying sideways.

"Maaaattttt!" the pained cry of Garurumon echoed as the blonde's body skid out of his reach.

There was a sudden explosion that rocked the ground beneath them, coming from somewhere out of their vision, but Mimi didn't give herself time to process what it meant. Her argument may have cost her friend his life, the very thing she sought to protect. She remembered the feeling she had when they were stuck in the memory of Devimon's castle, how she had burned with the need for justice.

Mimi's feet began to guide her in the direction of Garurumon's agonized howls. She kicked her heels aside and ran barefoot through shards of debris. She could hear Tai call her name, but she kept running, desperate to reach Matt and Garurumon before her hesitance could be blamed for their deaths.

Mimi would never understand why these devidramon sought to work for Animamon's cause, if there was some ideal that they strove for or if they only continued to seek the destruction of the chosen children like they had in the past. She only knew that she was forced again into battle, to kill or be killed. To cause pain or endure it, but this wasn't just about defending herself. It was about saving those she cared about.

Her resolve hardened and behind her, she heard a sudden gust of wind. Two hands wrapped around her waist and Lillymon lifted her into the air just as the devidramon shot a red beam at Matt's chest.

* * *

Outside the darkness seemed impenetrable. Sora wondered if it was just another reflection of the only world Animamon knew. His words before he escaped the binds of light echoed in her mind… he only wanted to see. Was everything they went through, the torture, death, and penetration of their memories, all for this purpose? Were their stolen visions all he had?

"What?" Davis shouted in disbelief, drawing Sora's gaze back to the group. "No way! That guy knew where I was better than I did. There's no way he's blind!"

"His eyes," TK said. "That's why his eyes were like that…"

"There are more senses than sight alone. Animamon has adapted to overcome his disability," Gennai explained.

"His power…" Izzy cringed as he slowly pushed himself up to a sitting position, "… the ability to manipulate souls. He can access our memories in order to take in the visual data."

When Izzy put a hand to his head, as if trying to steady himself, Sora handed him a canteen of water that Gennai had supplied. The thought that this monster could access the most private moments of her past made her feel sick. She couldn't help but think of the memory Animamon infiltrated.

"Shouldn't we have told the others about this before they left?" Sora asked Gennai, trying to push away her thoughts. "Maybe we can use his weakness to defeat him somehow."

Gennai shook his head. "I didn't want them to go into battle underestimating him. It may be that Animamon's blindness isn't a weakness at all… in fact it could be his greatest strength."

"I had no idea he was blind, Sora," Biyomon chirped. "He was usually hiding, but when he did fight us, he didn't have any trouble aiming."

"He was always a step ahead of us. That's how Gatomon got hurt," Patamon added, looking forlornly at the cat digimon still sleeping in Kari's arms.

"At least she distracted him long enough for me to get a good shot of him with my electro-shocker!" Tentomon said proudly. "That one was for you, Izzy!"

The redhead attempted to smile, but a melancholy 'thank you' seemed to be all he was capable of.

"Your attack bounced right off him," Gomamon interjected followed by Armadillomon's snicker.

The electric bug glared at them. "Well, at least _I _hit him with _something_!"

"Hey!"

"To be honest, Andromon did the most damage," Hawkmon spoke up, dispelling the ensuing argument. "Animamon's leg was injured from his attack. Our champion forms weren't strong enough to have an effect. I suppose that's why Angewomon was able to restrain him when Gatomon could not."

"Is he a mega?" Joe asked, finally pushing up the glasses that had fallen to the tip of his nose.

"An ultimate," answered Gennai, "but his powers make him an extremely dangerous one."

"Not as dangerous as mega digimon Imperialdramon!" Davis boasted. "Just wait 'til these guys get their energy back."

Sora found her gaze drifting again to the exit that Greymon had created as the others began to discuss their battle strategy.

"What is it, Sora?" Biyomon asked quietly.

"I was just wondering why Animamon chose the memories he did…" she trailed off, cheeks reddening as her mind flooded with images of cookies and kisses and the disappointment of carefree grins.

Biyomon watched her knowingly. "Are you and Matt still ignoring each other?"

Sora's face flushed more as she caught TK's glance from the corner of her eye. "No," she answered with a shake of her head, wishing her partner couldn't read her so well.

A distant explosion disrupted Biyomon's attempt to carry on the conversation.

"What was that?" Joe asked, worry clear behind his lenses.

Andromon's robotic eyes were scanning the darkness. "A group of Animamon's allies have broken free!"

"We gotta go help!" Davis shouted.

"_You_ need to stay here, your digimon still aren't ready to fight," Sora said, standing. "Biyomon and I'll go see if they need back up."

Davis grumbled while Ken patted his shoulder reassuringly.

Another distant rumble of attacks pulled Sora into action. Her and Biyomon charged up the steps of rubble to Andromon and surveyed the darkness, lit by beams of red light.

"The devidramon are in pursuit of Garurumon," Andromon explained. "Take caution to avoid their gaze, they use it to stun their enemies."

"Thanks, Andromon!" Biyomon chirped. "Sora, I'm ready!"

An anguished howl from Garurumon carried through the darkness and Sora's whole body froze.

"Matt!" TK came speeding up to her side, Patamon flapping beside him.

There was a harsh pounding in her chest, a desperate panic as horrible thoughts began to plague her mind. Sora took a staggered step forward and Biyomon digivolved, her small pink wings transforming into fiery feathers that spread outside their prison. Sora clasped onto her partner's enormous talons and TK followed, jumping on just as Birdramon lifted into the air.

In the distance fires lit up a raging battle, but Sora's eyes were scouring the ground for the sound of Garurumon's cry. A red beam cracked through the sky and for a split second silhouettes were visible just ahead. Blonde hair took on a crimson hue and Sora felt her own scream matched by another's. Then the beam stopped and all went black.

What just happened? Was he hit? Did someone stop it? Was he…

The questions only had a second to circulate before Birdramon collided with a shadow of the night. The devidramon's sharp red claws clashed against her talons and Sora and TK fell to their bellies in order to avoid being speared through.

"Hang on!" Birdramon screeched as she wrestled mid-air to free herself from the devidramon's clutches.

"Matt!" Sora cried, trying to see below them as she and TK were flung around wildly. A moment later, she felt a hand grab her arm.

"Sora, come on!" TK was mounted on Pegasusmon. She hadn't even noticed Patamon digivolve.

Sora took TK's outstretched arm and allowed him to yank her from the giant talons and onto the digimon's back. She wrapped her arms tightly around the TK's middle and felt that his body was shaking almost as badly as hers was.

"No! Please don't give up! You're going to be ok!" Mimi's voice begged from below while Birdramon's battle raged above.

Tears sprung to Sora's eyes. He couldn't die… there were so many things she still needed to say. Their resolution in Animamon's world hadn't been enough. She had to explain, she had to…

The fire from Birdramon's meteor wing caught blaze in the debris just beyond them, illuminating Lilymon as she took off to aid the giant bird in her fight. Mimi was kneeling in the ashes, clutching onto what looked like a large white bear. Its arm was slowly dissolving into bits of data.

"Tell the kid he owes me a visit in primary village," it said.

"Fridgimon…"

The digimon must have taken the hit for Matt, but then where was he? Sora searched the debris and saw a body lying awkwardly amongst the rubble. As soon as Pegasusmon hit the ground, she jumped from his back and sprinted over rocks and bent metal, breathing far too heavily for an athlete used to running short distances.

He was dead.

That was the only explanation for the wide immobile eyes, the blue iris stained with blood. She choked out in denial, but the words stuck in her throat as she fell to her knees beside him.

"Matt! Matt!" TK was on his other side grasping his hand.

"He's alive…" Mimi was just barely audible over the noise of the battle above as she pushed away streams of tears from her cheeks. The small arms she had clutched around Fridgimon's body were now empty.

"What's wrong with him?" TK asked.

Sora finally noticed the subtle rise and fall of Matt's chest and a sob of relief burst from her lips.

"Are you ok! I heard you screaming!" Joe was jogging up to Mimi, his arms full with Gomamon and a bag of supplies.

"I'm fine," Mimi reassured him, taking his hand when he offered it. She turned to TK as they made their way to Matt's side. "It was the devidramon. They paralyzed him."

Sora reluctantly moved away as Joe began to patch up a large gash above Matt's eyebrow. Despite the frozen muscles on his face, there was a hint of agony beneath the blood and dirt that Joe was wiping away and tears pooled involuntarily in his blood-covered eye, seeping out in pink streaks. Garurumon limped up to them and pressed his nose against his partner's arm once they had reassured him that he was still alive.

TK brushed a hand over the digimon's fur and he almost immediately shrunk back to Gabumon. "How long does it last?" he asked.

Mimi shook her head. "I don't know."

A loud explosion sent rubble rolling on the ground. Sora looked to the sky, where flashes of light exposed a devidramon bursting into data from the impact of Lilymon's flower canon, but the explosion hadn't come from above. Another sudden panic enveloped her.

"Where's Tai?"

"He's with Ogremon and Centarumon," Mimi replied, gazing back over her shoulder. "There's at least ten more devidramon over there."

"Good ol' Ogremon," Joe said. A faint smile pulled through the frown on his face as he fastened a bandage on Matt's forehead.

"Any sign of Animamon? I'm ready to take that creep on!" Gomamon claimed, lifting a clawed flipper in the air as if he were slapping someone.

"No."

"How did the devidramon get free then?"

Mimi looked completely downtrodden. "We didn't see anything, but it sounded like someone snapped their restraints in half."

"Animamon _must_ have done it, maybe even from a distance," Pegasusmon stated, stomping a golden hoof into the dirt. "The restraints were from Gennai, made of chrome digizoid. It would take a mega, or a very powerful ultimate to break through them."

There was a screeching cry above as the devidramon above slowly dissolved and its data scattered in the wind.

Lillymon fluttered down to them. "The others are still fighting! I'm going back!"

"We'll be right behind you," Joe reassured when Mimi turned to him. "I'm just going to check Matt over to make sure it's safe to move him."

Mimi and Lillymon disappeared toward the flashing lights in the distance and Sora could vaguely make out the sound of Tai's voice through a break in explosions. A gust of wind blew her hair in her face, blocking her view, as Birdramon landed behind her.

"Sora, is he…?"

Joe was gently checking the spine in Matt's neck and carefully moving him to make sure nothing was broken. "No, just paralyzed," he answered when Sora didn't. "Pegasusmon, can you take him back inside?"

"Of course," the winged horse replied, "You too, Gabumon. You're in no condition to walk."

As Joe and TK heaved Matt's limp body onto Pegasusmon's back, Sora pushed herself from the ground and placed a hand on her partner's enormous leg. "Let's go."

Birdramon's fiery head lowered. There was understanding in those large cobalt eyes, a nonverbal communication that made Sora realize her partner could sense the fear, guilt, and conflict that guided her actions, but Birdramon didn't press… she didn't need to. Biyomon in all her forms knew Sora better than anyone, loved her despite her doubts, loved her when she thought she was incapable of loving back. Sometimes Biyomon seemed to understand Sora better than she understood herself.

The pair took off, and Sora felt a momentary freedom in the wind as they flew far above the turmoil that had been tearing into the life sustaining muscle in her chest.

"Everything's going to be ok," Birdramon soothed after a rumble from the battle ahead died down.

Sora nodded. "We'll beat him."

"SORAAAA!" Tai's voice screamed desperately.

She couldn't see him, only a barrage of red beams and the outline of MetalGreymon's chrome arm as it flickered in the firelight and impaled a screaming devidramon.

"Look out!"

It wasn't until a tornado from the wings of an approaching airdramon sent them spiraling to the ground that Sora realized Birdramon hadn't been talking about this battle at all, but something much deeper.

* * *

The warmth of the fire did little to reduce the chill on her skin, the goose bumps of uncertainty as explosions and shouts rattled the walls around her.

"That's it!" Davis bellowed, charging toward the exit. "I can't just sit here! They need our help!"

Kari felt the same way, but she could barely find the energy to stand and poor Gatomon was still unconscious. She didn't remember what happened after the light pulled her from her memory and back into her real body, but after she woke and the initial adrenaline of the reunion with the others wore off, she was drained.

It was not the first time Kari had experienced the effects of the holy possession of Light. When it took over, she felt encompassed by warmth and compassion, and when it left, she was always empty. Maybe when this was all over she could see if Izzy had any theories about how the light used her and what exactly it was. The redhead was resting again, his eyes closed, but he was awake, cringing with each crash they heard.

"Davis, we'd just get in the way right now," Ken's calm voice stated.

"We're ready, Ken! Let go!"

"Yeah, we're ready!" declared DemiVeemon.

"AHHHHHH shit! Ack, let go let go let go!"

Andromon had apprehended Davis by his broken wrist. "I have been commanded to keep you here."

DemiVeemon rammed his little head into the android's leg. "Let him go!"

"BY WHO?"

"Me," said Gennai, throwing his hood over his head. "Your digimon have all been through days of strenuous battle and ExVeemon and Stingmon were constantly in the front lines. I need you to stay put until I can return with the proper provisions."

"WHEN THE HELL IS THAT GOING TO BE?" It was obvious by the look on Davis's face that his anger was directed more at the pain than at Gennai.

"You can release him."

Davis cradled his wrist when Andromon relinquished his hold. "If we have to take out the bucket of bolts first, fine! I'm going to help my friends."

"Why are you in such a hurry to die again?" Yolei shouted. Her voice choked with emotion and bitterness.

As a heavy silence spread over their group, Kari felt her heart skip a beat, or maybe two. Her chest hurt, for the pain she saw behind Yolei's glasses, for the memory of loss. It was not a romantic skipping; it was more like her life force had shut down, leaving her catching her breath. She felt sick remembering the thought of never seeing him again, guilty for telling Yolei that she had made his death mean nothing.

"I'm not…" Davis mumbled quietly.

"We can still fight, Davis," Iori spoke up, gesturing to himself and Armadillomon. "And you and Hawkmon can too, Yolei. Tentomon, you can still evolve to champion, right?"

"Absolutely!"

"Then we'll split up if they call for us. Yolei, Hawkmon, and Tentomon can stay here to protect you and Armadillomon, Andromon, and I can go. TK told us he'd send us a signal if they needed our help, remember?"

"Don't forget," Gennai added, "Animamon may still seek to destroy the vessel of Light. You must protect Kari at all costs."

Davis turned to her and the serious crease in his brow caused Kari to drop her gaze to Gatomon. She ran her fingers through white fur as her cheeks flushed. She hadn't asked for this, she didn't want anyone to sacrifice themselves for her.

"I'll be back as soon as I can." With that, Gennai climbed out of their prison and disappeared into black.

"I'm just lookin'! Geez!" Davis had climbed up the rubble again and Andromon's arm blocked him from continuing.

Yolei, who had turned red after the silence her outburst had caused, slowly walked to Kari's cot and sat down beside her. Her fingers curled around the bed sheets.

Kari felt the guilt overpower her. "Yolei, I'm sorry about what I said…"

"Huh?"

"I was angry at you," she whispered. "For… dying."

"Oh." Yolei's knuckles whitened as the sheet tightened beneath her grip. "I understand."

"No, it wasn't your fault you got sick and Dav-" she lowered her voice, "Davis would have done it anyway."

Yolei nodded, watching the boy grumbling to Ken.

Kari wasn't sure if her apology had gotten through, but for now she allowed the tense silence to continue as they listened to the distant explosions. She still felt a chill in the air, and she blamed it for the trembling in her fingers each time another attack rattled their waiting place.

"Why did you kiss him?"

Kari's hands jerked and yanked on Gatomon's fur. The digimon finally woke, almost swatting Kari with her paw by instinct.

"Kari!" she cried, pulling back her claws. "I thought it was a dream! I thought…" Gatomon hissed and gripped her injured shoulder. "Where's Animamon?"

"He escaped," answered Hawkmon from the air. He landed beside them and pulled a filet of dried fish from beneath his wing. "Gennai entrusted me to provide you with his last bit of food when you woke."

Gatomon thanked him and listened attentively as Hawkmon began to explain what had happened after she passed out, occasionally nibbling at the fish.

Kari took the opportunity to observe her DNA partner. Part of her wanted to drop the conversation they had been about to have, wanted to put her mistake behind her, but the other part of her knew what Yolei was really after.

"You care about him."

"O-of course I do," Yolei stammered, releasing the sheets in order to fiddle with her glasses. "I care about all of you."

Kari smiled gently and turned back to the boy in question, who was beginning to pace furiously back and forth, so much like her brother would do when anything called for patience. She imagined the rain and the innocent game that led to that kiss. It was so much like the games they had played when they were children: racing each other down the street or seeing who could spin the longest before falling down. If they played in a group, Davis would try his hardest to win, but whenever Kari joined, he would grab her hand and they would win or lose together. Despite the arrogance he often displayed, he would sacrifice even his own dignity when it came to those he cared about.

"He's reckless," she murmured. "That's why I kissed him… because everything he does is to the extreme. The way he loves, the way he'll give up everything for the ones he cares about."

Yolei replaced her glasses, but the disappointment on her face was impossible to miss.

Kari slowly reached with her trembling fingers and placed them over Yolei's. "Even his life."

"He's an idiot." The tone in Yolei's voice told Kari that she had understood the meaning behind her words.

"Pegasusmon and TK are returning," Andromon stated. "Matt and Gabumon are with them, they've been injured."

"Can you see Tai?" Kari asked, pushing herself off the cot. Her knees went weak and she felt Yolei grab her arm to support her.

"No," the android answered as they reached the exit.

Ken grabbed Kari's other arm, helping her climb some of the rubble. "I'm sure he's fine. They would've sent a signal if they needed help."

A nearby fire illuminated the flying horse and his passengers. For a moment relief stilled the shaking in Kari's hands as she saw the outline of TK's determined face, but it was quickly torn away as three sets of gaping jaws blocked her view.


	31. Nightmares

**Innocent Games**

**Chapter Thirty-One  
Nightmares**

* * *

It was just like a nightmare, Joe was sure he had experienced stress dreams that were nearly identical. Four twisters moved eerily in the darkness lit only by flashes of flame and light, bending in a deadly dance and eating everything in their path. The steady roar of the spirals drowned out the sounds of the battle ahead and a group of airdramon soared through the skies on red wings like birds of prey. Their skulled heads and snake like bodies twisted through the air like the tornadoes they had created.

Despite a lifetime of running, his feet were not fast enough. Joe helplessly watched the violent wind toss Birdramon as if she were no more than a leaf in a storm. Just as her and Sora were about to collide with the ground, another gust of wind tossed them up again, whipping them with dust and debris.

"Hang on!" Joe shouted. The flames ahead gave off enough light for him to see Lilymon attempt to take out one of the airdramon, only to have to dodge a barrage of spears from its wings. Mimi wasn't anywhere in sight, but he knew Lilymon must have left her somewhere safe, probably with Tai.

The wind was so strong that Joe couldn't take another step forward and strands of hair flung against his face like tiny whips.

"We've got to do something!" Gomamon shouted from his arms, though the noise of the twisters made it sound like he was a million miles away. He ended up squirming out of his partner's grip and before Joe had a chance to react, he digivolved into Ikkakumon and his huge furry body created a blockade against the wind.

Joe crawled onto Ikakumon's back and gripped his white fur in his fingers, momentarily wondering how long it had been since they had last fought together. Ikkakumon staggered into the violent storm and shot a harpoon torpedo at one of the airdramon, but the wind swept the attack too far to the right, missing the digimon completely.

Somehow through the chaos he could hear Sora's scream and Joe turned to see her falling alongside of her partner who had reverted to her rookie form. It seemed like an eternity that they were in the sky while Joe and Ikkakumon stood helpless, too far to reach them. An airdramon was tearing through the wind after them, its jaw gaping wide, ready to catch up their helpless bodies.

"Ikkakumon!"

His digimon seemed to understand and within a moment a harpoon torpedo was flying through the air, turning in the wind, and then it miraculously collided with the airdramon, hitting it directly in the throat. Data scattered and twirled into the twisters just as Lilymon dived beneath Sora and Biyomon, catching them both midair.

"Yes!" Joe shouted and slapped Ikkakumon's back in approval. "That was amazing!"

"Just had to account for the breeze!" Ikkakumon growled back proudly.

Two of the tornadoes died away, as if following their creator to the grave, giving Lilymon the chance to escape their grasp, but three more airdramon began pursuit, attacking with blades of wind and cutting her off so that she had to change direction.

"Think you can hit one again?"

Ikkakumon took his stance, pushing against the wind to get closer. "Think? Ha! I know it!"

The torpedo he shot this time was just a little off, hitting one of the airdramon in the wing and sending it crashing to the ground. Once there, its wing dissolved to data and it fluttered against the ground in circles, disoriented.

The two remaining airdramon were gaining on Lilymon, who couldn't counterattack with her arms full. Even through the darkness, Joe could make out the concentration on her face as she pushed herself faster.

"Ikkakumon! Joe! Catch!" she cried as she finally reached them. Just as the airdramon caught up with her, she let Sora and Biyomon fall from her arms.

Joe's catch was anything but elegant. Sora's weight knocked him off his feet and they both fell in a heap in Ikkakumon's fur. Luckily for Biyomon, Ikkakumon had managed better and caught her in his flipper before carefully sliding her to his back. Lilymon , freed of her burden, turned on the airdramon and released her flower canon, immediately turning them both into data. The last tornadoes disintegrated and the debris they had carried fell to the earth.

"Good catch!" Lilymon complimented, beaming down at them.

Sora untangled herself from Joe's spindly limbs and picked Biyomon up, embracing her gently.

"You ok, Biyo?"

The pink bird's eyes were rolling around in her head. "Dizzy…"

Sora let out a relieved laugh, but her face soon turned serious at the sound of violent screeches. They turned to see more airdramon descending upon them while others were joining the battle that flashed in the distance. Lilymon took off to meet them.

"SOORAAAA!" Tai's voice called through the noise.

Joe could just barely make him out as he came over a mound of rubble. Mimi appeared right after, her long hair blowing in the wind. They were just two outlines in the dark, figures backlit by the explosions behind them.

"We're ok!" Sora cried back.

An airdramon escaped Lilymon's attack. The snakelike dragon came soaring at them, sending an onslaught of spears made by the air beneath its wings.

Beneath them, Ikkakumon transformed, his soft white fur shined with light and turned to a hard enormous shell lined with bolts and spikes. As Zudomon stood up on his hind legs to bat away the attack with his Thor's hammer, Joe clung to one of the metal bolts protruding from the ultimate's back and grabbed Sora's hand to keep her from slipping off.

"A little warning next time!" Joe shouted after he and Sora managed to pull themselves up onto Zudomon's shoulder.

"Sure, next time I'll try to remember to warn you before I save your lives," Zudomon grumbled before swatting another airdramon from the sky.

A stray devidramon had escaped the battle with MetalGreymon and joined the flurry of airdramon in their attacks. Its red eyes glowed in the darkness and Joe had to remind himself to tear his eyes away before it caught his gaze. Waves of dragon digimon flew between the two groups of chosen children, determined to keep them apart. Zudomon and Lilymon continued to take them down, but the numbers remained consistent, as if more digimon were replacing the ones that had been deleted. A small group bypassed Zudomon and shot through the air in the direction TK had escaped to with Matt.

Joe felt completely overwhelmed. "Where did they all come from?"

Zudomon hammered the earth and bolts of lightning spread across the ground, obliterating the few injured digimon that had fallen in its path. "Someone must have let them loose. Fridgimon and Meramon were holding the airdramon captive. I hope they're ok."

"Fridgimon is gone…" Sora mumbled.

Joe lowered his head for a moment as the battle raged on, remembering the icy digimon that had joined him and Mimi on their journey.

"He saved Matt's life," Biyomon added, her bright eyes watering. "We thought the digimon we had captured were out of energy, I don't understand why they're suddenly so strong again."

As if on cue, bright energy crackled in the air behind them and Joe turned to see Pegasusmon dart to the side just in time to avoid a huge beam. TK was clinging onto his brother with Gabumon's help, trying to keep his limp body on the flying horse as they dodged attacks from airdramon and a huge three-headed dinosaur that stood between them and the way back inside Animamon's prison.

"Get out of here! There's too many of them!" Tai shouted at them. MetalGreymon appeared behind him, slashing through a devidramon.

"No, we're not leaving you!" Sora screamed, though another boom caused her eyes to dart back to where Pegasusmon was struggling to counterattack.

Tai tugged Mimi beneath MetalGreymon's body in order to avoid a devidramon's red beam and then he froze there, staring at them through smoke and flashing lights.

"I-it's ok!" he finally stuttered.

Sora turned to face him.

Joe could barely hear Tai's next words through an explosion, but they were willful and without a hint of bitterness. "Go help Matt."

"We'll see you soon!" Mimi cried.

Joe raised a hand in farewell and felt a familiar pang of regret as Zudomon fought his way to Pegasusmon's aid. He remembered a younger Mimi watching him from the shore, but soon the waves of enemies between them became so thick that their separation would have been inevitable regardless of Tai's orders. Joe felt Sora's hand on his arm, squeezing it for support. It was hard to tell if the gesture was for him or herself.

* * *

Despite the danger slinging through the air around them, Tai only felt relief. He couldn't really understand it. Battles lied in either direction, and darkness and destruction everywhere.

"To your right!" he instructed MetalGreymon as another devidramon swooped in.

The data scattered over them like snowflakes. Behind them, Ogremon and Centarumon had managed to bind up some of their injured enemies, but they were struggling to guard them as airdramon nose-dived like kamikaze pilots. Lilymon was buzzing ahead, maneuvering swiftly through the swarms of dragons, somehow evading their attacks and effectively dealing out her own.

The shelter that Tai and Mimi had taken beneath MetalGreymon's massive legs disappeared as two devidramon flew into his body, shoving him back.

"MetalGreymon!" Tai shouted, watching his partner struggle against the champions. He began to search the ground for some type of weapon, desperate to help. MetalGreymon must've read his thoughts, because after throwing off one of the devidramon, he glared sharply at Tai, wordlessly demanding him to stay back.

Tai took a step forward anyway. Then the ground began to tremble beneath their feet.

"What is that?" Mimi asked.

MetalGreymon's heavy body often made the earth shake, but these vibrations seemed steadier than his footsteps and they lasted too long to be the backlash of an attack. Tai squinted as he scanned the landscape, trying to find the source in a land lit only by flashing lights and sporadic fires. The shaking became more intense and a few of the fires seemed to glow brighter, almost as if they were moving closer.

"Uh, Mimi, do those fires look like they're moving to you?"

Mimi was already stepping backwards. "Those aren't fires…"

As the flames drew closer, Tai could make out the outlines of digimon that marched beside them. They were gray, about the size of a small child with huge rabbit-like ears and long tails, sprinting on all fours. It wasn't until one stood on its back feet that Tai recognized them as gazimon. It seemed to stare directly at him as the others forked off to follow Zudomon's trail. The moving fire halted beside the gazimon and its flames took on life. The fire was actually the fur of a huge feline, crouched and ready to pounce.

"It doesn't look like they're on our side," Tai groaned as his gaze danced through the rubble. He grabbed a burnt wooden beam and put a hand in front of Mimi, forcing her back.

The gazimon came charging first, extending its claws. Tai readied his stick and spread his feet in the stance Iori had taught him, but before he could deliver the blow a rock sped past him and clocked the digimon in the head, sending it sprawling on the ground. Tai could almost see the stars spinning around its huge ears. He turned to Mimi, eyes wide with shock as she dusted her hand off on her skirt.

She grinned. "I used to play baseball with Michael."

Before Tai could contemplate Mimi participating in any sport besides cheerleading, her smile fell and the hint of a warning was on her lips. The stick flew from Tai's hands as the large flaming feline pinned him to the ground. Its huge metallic claws dug into his shoulders and its fangs were only inches from his face. Sweat began to bead on his body from the heat. Tai could barely hear the shouts from MetalGreymon and Mimi over the roar of its fiery fur.

In just moments they would either come to his rescue or he was a goner. Instead the red and orange of the digimon's fur transformed into short auburn hair and the paws holding him down became hands that pushed off him.

_Tai heard a whistle blow in his ear._

"_Ugh…" He sat up and rubbed the back of his head. He was sure if he had less hair to cushion his fall, he'd have a concussion._

_A hand reached down to him. "You ok?"_

"_Yeah." Tai smiled sheepishly and accepted the hand. It was hot and clammy in his grip. "That was a great tackle." He dusted off his red uniform._

_The scent of flowers mixed in with the smell of grass and sweat._

"_That was an impeccable take down, Sora." Izzy ran up to them and kicked the dirt from his cleats._

"_Sora?" Tai took a better look at the dirt-smudged face and, sure enough, Sora grinned back at him. "What are you doing here? This is a guy's team!"_

"_Coach informed the team we were changing to co-ed last practice, remember? The girl's team didn't have enough players this year," Izzy explained._

"_You look disappointed." Sora put her hands on her hips. "Did getting taken out by a girl bruise your ego?"_

"Tai!"

_Some part of him faltered at the sound of his name, but his body only shifted into a cocky lean. "Oh no, my ego is still intact, thanks. Everyone knows you aren't really a girl."_

_Sora raised an eyebrow. "Hm… what am I then?"_

"_A beast!"_

_She punched him in the arm._

"_Ow…" Tai rubbed his injury. "See?"_

"Tai, snap out of it!"

This time the call jolted him completely and Tai felt a searing pain in his shoulders and face. He remembered the fiery digimon that pinned him down, but somehow he couldn't break free of the soccer field. Maybe he was dead… but why did he feel pain in heaven?

Animamon. The realization of what was happening to him caused Tai to thrash around violently, though he didn't feel any movement in his limbs. His head ached as he fought for control, but Animamon kept pursuing his memories, flipping through them as if they were days on a calendar until he let one linger.

_It was storming. _

_Jingling bells greeted Tai as he shoved open the door to the small shop. Behind him, Matt shook drops from his umbrella and checked his spiked hair in the window before entering._

"_If you don't find something here, I'm going home," Matt grumbled._

"_Give me a break; I'm working with a limited budget." Tai frowned as he pulled a small wad of yen from his pocket. "What did you get her?"_

_Matt shrugged. "A CD."_

"_Which one?"_

"_Uh… I kind of made it." Color crept onto Matt's cheeks. "You know, just a mix of songs I thought she'd like."_

"_Huh…" Tai shifted uncomfortably and noticed that Matt suddenly seemed very interested in a display of key chains. "I got her one of those last year." He pointed to one with a soccer ball. _

"_Did she like it?"_

"_I guess so. She put it on her gym bag." Tai let out an exasperated sigh. "I hate shopping."_

"_What did Kari get her?"_

"_A stuffed pink bird, kinda looks like Biyomon." _

_Matt nodded in approval and they continued to glance over the various trinkets. "I'm not really much help, Tai. I don't know how to shop for girls."_

"_Huh… Sora is a girl, isn't she?"_

"_You're a quick one."_

"_Ha ha," Tai laughed dryly. He began down a different aisle._

Someone was screaming. His heart raced at the sound of the voice, but for some reason, he lost the will to fight.

_Tai stopped in front of a display of fancy hair pieces. Ornate barrettes and pins were placed in wigs, shining brilliantly. He imagined Sora in a kimono like her mother often wore. He picked up a kanzashi made of silk flowers and let out a low whistle at the price tag before setting it back down._

"_Man, girl stuff is expensive." _

_He squatted to get a better look at the bottom shelf where a few smaller pieces were located. A gold and red hair clip caught his eye and he made a quick grab for it. The price was right so he held it out for Matt's inspection._

"_Do you think she'd wear it?" the blonde asked. "I hardly ever see her without a hat."_

_Tai turned the clip over carefully in his hand and imagined the red and gold flickering in auburn hair, like a sunset. It caused an uneasy feeling in the pit of stomach that made his face feel hot. "I dunno."_

_Matt checked his watch. "It's almost six. I got to get home, I told Dad I'd have dinner ready." _

"_Should I get it?" _

"_Do you think she'll like it?"_

"_Uh… sure."_

_Matt's cool gaze narrowed and then, with a slight roll of his eyes, he said, "Then let's go."_

_Tai gripped the hair clip tightly in his palm and as he made his way up to the counter to pay, he wondered if Sora would like his gift as much as he did._

"We have to go, Tai! Please!"

"I wasn't quick enough," said another mournful voice. "He's hurt."

The memories carried on.

_As Sora chewed nervously on her fingernails he could still feel the ghost of her lips on his and for the first time he could imagine what it must be like for Matt, to have her and lose her._

"_I'm sorry," Tai apologized. "I shouldn't have kissed you."_

_The fingers fell from her mouth and she watched him carefully. He was wondering what she was searching for in his eyes when she whispered, "Don't apologize."_

"STOP IT!" Tai shot up so quickly that he almost rammed heads with the small orange dinosaur hovering over him. "Agumon!" He hissed as a burning sensation sent searing pain from his shoulders and on the right side of his jaw.

"Oh, Tai!" Agumon's claws wrapped around him and Tai cringed, causing Agumon to release him and apologize profusely.

"Are you ok?" Mimi asked. "Lilymon destroyed the lynxmon, but you still got burnt."

Tai grimaced, daring to touch the burn on his chin. It was sticky and blistering and it stung like hell. "I'll live," he muttered. "What happened?"

"I saw you go limp," Agumon whimpered. "I panicked and the devidramon took advantage, so I'm Agumon again."

"Hey, no worries pal. You did great, I'm fine."

Mimi helped Tai to his feet and he faltered when he saw the scorched skin on her arm.

"I tried hitting the lynxmon with your stick," she explained. "I'm ok. It's not as bad as yours. We need to try to head back; most of the digimon took off after the others. Can you make it?"

Tai nodded before swallowing heavily. "Animamon… he can get into our heads without touching us. I blacked out."

"Do you think that's what happened to Matt?" Mimi looked around the darkness, searching for their enemy as they began to slowly make their way across the battlefield. Lilymon was flying overhead, keeping the few remaining airdramon away with Centarumon and Ogremon's help.

"Animamon is trying to take us out one at a time. I think he is getting everyone that can digivolve to mega out of the way first."

Tai didn't feel it was necessary to mention the memories themselves. He knew their purpose, and he was not going to allow that distraction to take his mind off taking Animamon down.

* * *

Three beams of energy combined into one twisting spiral, searing the earth as it cut off Pegasusmon's path.

"Attack his head!" Davis shouted.

Iori took shelter behind Ankylomon's leg as rocks and dirt flew into the air. He turned to the entrance of the prison where Davis, Ken, Kari and their digimon were watching the battle. Ken's fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles were white.

"Which one?" Yolei cried out from Halsemon's back as they flew around the huge champion.

"Any of them!"

Deltamon was fighting furiously to keep TK from reaching them, providing more of a problem than a champion should with its triple beams and sporadic attacks. Iori remembered this digimon when it had been under the control of a dark ring. Its triple heads had threatened to devour a group of Bakemon that were posing as the chosen children, convincing Davis to surrender to the Digimon Kaiser. Ken didn't take its reappearance well, but Davis had quickly laughed it off, slapping him in the back and making a remark about the good ol' days. He had been shouting out battle strategies ever since, determined to contribute.

Deltamon sent one arm into the air and the snake-like head on it snapped, trying to catch the flying horse in its jaw. Pegasusmon spent his time dodging rather than attacking, trying to protect the delicate cargo on his back.

Ankylomon swung his enormous spiked tail and hammered it directly into the skull on Deltamon's left arm, successfully cracking its jaw. A beam came out of the injured mouth like a kaleidoscope of light, shooting in all directions through the cracks in the bone.

Iori cringed. "Hold it still!"

Before Ankylomon could follow his instructions, a blade of powerful air sliced through the head, scattering it into bits of data. Deltamon hollered painfully. Iori turned to Yolei and Halsemon. He only caught a glance at the rage and fear on Yolei's face before they were both dodging the beams from the remaining heads, Deltamon having forgotten his pursuit of Pegasusmon.

Then, in an instant, a powerful laser shot out and blew a hole through the gut of the now two-headed monster. Deltamon released a terrible noise before its data disintegrated.

Andromon's arm was smoking. "We couldn't afford to let him live," the android said.

A horrified shiver ran through Iori's body. He ground his teeth and turned to Ankylomon, who still looked a bit shocked. In the air, Halsemon was solemn and Yolei seemed near hysteria.

The ground beneath them began to tremble and a violent wind whipped Iori's short bangs. A tornado roared toward them, followed by an airdramon that attempted to pluck Pegasusmon from the sky. Halsemon quickly spun around and shot out his tempest wing attack, creating his own spiral to combat against the winding storm.

A sudden onslaught of digimon herded towards them. Moving fires and a stampede of smaller digimon followed by winged dragons were all bearing down on TK and his fallen brother. Iori faintly heard Kari screaming through the angry wind and explosions, telling him to run.

"Ankylomon, do you think you can stop that stampede without…?"

"Sure thing, partner." Ankylomon rose to his back legs, towering high in the air and then with all his power, he slammed into the earth and the ground collapsed into a deep chasm, taking a third of the stampeding digimon underground.

Iori could hear roars of frustration as they attempted to climb from the abyss without luck. There was a sharp buzzing noise overhead as Kabuterimon joined the fight, but there were still too many digimon working to keep Pegasusmon from reaching them. The distance was too far for DNA digivolution. Iori briefly wondered if that was part of the enemy's strategy, to keep them separated, the only two digimon who were still strong enough to DNA digivolve. With Ken, Davis, and Kari's partners all out of commission, he and TK were all that was left… and they still had Animamon to deal with, wherever he was.

A flash of lightning lit the dark sky and Iori could make out Zudomon sending bolts from his hammer and obliterating a group of digimon that continued to stampede toward a weary Pegasusmon.

Behind him, Davis let out a whooping holler, but Iori only tensed. He sought for Yolei in the sky and found her face desperate, willing to do anything.

Another great chasm had formed, but this one was not in the earth.

* * *

Pegasusmon was soaring dangerously close to the ground when he spun sideways, almost knocking Gabumon from his back. TK had to let go of his brother's shirt in order to catch the rookie by the pelt. The fur almost lifted up completely as TK tugged him to safety.

"Thanks, TK." Gabumon gripped Pegasusmon's mane tightly and the flying horse gave a small whinny of protest. With his other hand, the digimon straightened his pelt, blushing profusely. "I hope no one else saw that."

"Hey, Gabumon! Your yellow was showing!" Zudomon laughed as he absently threw his hammer behind him, knocking it into a leaping lynxmon.

TK didn't know until now that it was possible for a furry lizard to turn that red.

"You guys ok?" Sora called from Zudomon's back.

"We're ok, but Pegasusmon is running out of steam!" TK shouted back. "Matt's still out cold."

"We need to find another place to retreat," Pegasusmon added.

TK scanned the rubble of Animamon's base and with another flash of lightening from Zudomon's hammer he could make out an entryway on the opposite end of where their prison was located. "Over there!"

Their small group began to retreat. Dozens of gazimon and a few lynxmon were in pursuit while the airdramon swerved between them and the prison, making it certain that they could no longer reach their friends. TK looked over his shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of Kari through the scuffle, but he could only see Ankylomon and Kabuterimon locked in a struggle with more approaching enemy herds. He took in a deep breath and grasped Matt's shirt tightly as Pegasusmon picked up speed.

As they drew close to the entrance, TK could make out red markings on the large double doors, similar to the strange designs that were strewn across Animamon's skin. Pegasusmon's hooves collided with it and they flew into a large empty hallway, glowing with candlelight. Behind him, TK could hear the roar of the pursuing digimon and Zudomon's attacks. Soon the ultimate was at the door, swinging his hammer into the ground and causing the group of digimon to momentarily retreat. Sora, Biyomon, and Joe slid from his back and darted into the hallway.

"We have to block the entrance!" Joe shouted. "Zudomon, get in here!"

Zudomon's massive shell backed into the doorway, blocking it entirely. "I'm gonna have to become Gomamon again to fit. Pegasusmon, do you think you can collapse the supports in time?"

TK dismounted as his partner nodded his approval and he pulled Matt's limp body from Pegasusmon's back with Joe and Gabumon's help. Zudomon sent out a final wave of lightening with his Thor's hammer before light surrounded him and he reverted to Gomamon. Sora scooped the rookie into her arms and ran back to the group as Pegasusmon shot his Equus beam directly into the supports above the doorway. It cracked and crumbled loudly and the beams broke in half. Wood and stone fell into the entrance just as the pack of enemy digimon had reached it. Dust exploded into the hallway and they all coughed until it settled.

"I can walk you know," Gomamon grumbled from Sora's arms.

She set him down. "Those little flippers of yours aren't too fast on land."

One little flipper made a rude gesture and TK chuckled. The laughter was quickly subdued as the sound of frustrated roars and shifting rock came from the other side of the collapsed entrance.

"How is he?" Sora asked, now that the mood had turned somber. She knelt by Matt's lifeless body and seemed hypnotized by his unblinking stare.

A small light engulfed Pegasusmon and then Patamon was flapping his little ears above them. "Heavy," the rookie quipped.

TK took a seat on the ground beside his brother's ex-girlfriend, crossing his legs. "He's going to be ok, Sora."

The sound of a frustrated roar came through the rubble.

"We'll need to get moving soon," Joe said.

"Ugh…" Patamon groaned, falling from the air and landing on the top of TK's head.

"I know a safe place."

TK bolted to his feet and Patamon immediately puffed out a boom bubble, hitting the lone gazimon square in the nose, causing it to fly backwards. It sat up with tears leaking from its red eyes. "I'm here to help!" it cried in a raspy voice.

"Yeah right!" Gomamon chirped. Biyomon and Gabumon joined him in fighting stances. "And so are your fifty brothers outside!"

"I'm not fighting for Animamon's cause anymore." The gazimon's long gray ears twitched violently. "He killed my best friend… he just absorbed the data right out of him! He used us for his sick experiments!"

TK met glances with Sora and Joe and then put up his hand, causing their partners to back down. "Then why are there still so many digimon attacking us?"

The gazimon stood, rubbing digital blood from its nose. "Animamon can be very convincing… his powers can drive you mad. Most of us don't even have the energy left to fight or don't want to. He's manipulating them somehow."

"And you just got left alone in the fortress so you could conveniently guide us to safety?" Gomamon snapped.

"I've been in hiding ever since Animamon absorbed…" The gazimon's tail flicked violently and the tears in its eyes became a fountain. "He-he was just telling Animamon about the state of the wall, but Animamon had to see for himself and then he just absorbed his data, he just devoured him!"

TK felt his own nails dig into his palm and a burning sensation seeped into his chest, like a fire flickering speedily through fresh kindling. Another loud rumbling shifted rock and wood behind them.

"You said there was somewhere safe?" TK asked.

The gazimon nodded, wiping away its tears with its clawed hand. "I've been hiding in one of Animamon's secret passageways. The others don't know about it. I found it by accident. The chosen of Friendship can recover there."

"You know who he is?" Gabumon asked, stepping in front of Matt's limp form protectively.

"I used to work for Etemon," the gazimon admitted.

Gomamon threw a threatening flipper in the gazimon's direction. "And we're gonna trust this guy?"

"Yes." Biyomon flew between them. "I believe her."

"Her?"

Joe shielded his lips and leaned in TK's direction whispering, "How can you tell?"

TK shrugged.

"You loved him… the gazimon that Animamon absorbed," Biyomon cooed gently.

The gazimon's ears flattened against the back of her head. There was another loud sound from outside and a few rocks rolled loose from the rubble and into the hallway. She fell on all fours and turned her back on them. "You don't have much time. You can fight the others here or follow me. Your choice."

"We don't have much of one," Sora said. "We're not in any condition to fight right now."

TK nodded in agreement and knelt beside her. Sora helped him heave Matt onto his shoulder and they began down the dark corridor. It descended slightly and the temperature dropped, cooling the sweat that was beading on TK's forehead. His thoughts drifted the group they left behind. It was obvious that their separation was Animamon's battle strategy.

The female gazimon was scurrying ahead, twitching nervously. When she reached a new corridor she stood on her back legs and opened a door on their left. TK noticed the same strange inscriptions from the front door adorned this one as he passed through into a dark room. The door slammed behind them and Patamon flew in front of TK defensively.

There was a flickering of flame as the gazimon lit a small torch. "I'm not trapping you," she assured them.

The room was windowless and bare. The only décor was a large poster bed covered with plain linens and bordered by dark heavy drapes. The gazimon shuffled under it, leaving them in darkness. There was a loud scratching noise and then a light reappeared beneath the bed and the gazimon reemerged. "The secret passage is this way. It leads back to the other side of the fortress."

"Who's room is this?" Joe asked.

"Animamon's. I found the passage when I was sweeping. No one else knows about it."

TK resisted the urge to laugh and was unsure which image was funnier: gazimon sweeping or Animamon hiding out under his bed.

A thunderous bang vibrated through the walls.

"They've broken through," Sora said.

TK let out a loud puff of air as he lowered Matt to the floor. "Let's go."

Patamon and TK crawled under the bed after the gazimon and TK yanked Matt along by his ankles, shuffling backwards slowly. Joe came after them, groaning about dust allergies.

"You can jump down," the gazimon instructed, pointing her small torch into the hole in the flooring. "It's not far."

Patamon flew down into the dark passageway and chirped out a confirmation.

"Joe, can you lower Matt down to me?" TK asked.

There was a barely audible groan. "Sure."

TK hopped down, landing easily on his feet. The passageway was completely dark save for a small torch the gazimon held from above. Its firelight flickered against the stone walls so eerily that even Patamon looked scary.

Joe was huffing heavily as he lowered Matt by his armpits. Before TK got a good hold on his brother, Joe sneezed and Matt came sprawling down, knocking TK flat on his back. The gazimon hissed empathically as TK groaned and Joe belted out a sheepish apology. Gabumon climbed down next and helped roll Matt off his brother.

"You guys ok?" Sora asked as Biyomon fluttered down the hole after Joe and Gomamon.

"Uh-huh," TK squeaked, still catching his breath.

"We aren't going to get too far with Matt in this condition," Joe remarked as Sora landed beside him.

The gazimon dangled from the ceiling and shifted the floorboards until their way in was completely blocked. She dropped to the floor, illuminating the chosen children with her small torch.

"I can get something that'll help him," she said, looking over Matt's still body. "I'll be right back."

"Wait!" Gomamon shouted, but the gazimon had already shot off, scurrying down the long passageway and taking their only source of light with her.

Sora knelt beside Matt and as the last of the torchlight faded, TK could've sworn he saw her wipe away the pink tears that had rolled from Matt's bloodied eye, but then there was darkness and all TK could think about was how to fight it.

* * *

Despite all that had transpired, the emptiness he had formed inside hadn't diminished, even his bones felt hollow. They seemed to rattle too easily as the final explosions of the battle outside began to fade. Izzy eased himself back onto his cot, exhausted from sitting and his gaze settled on the open ceiling above, the dark sky pulled him in like a black hole.

"That was great!" Davis's enthusiastic voice shouted in the distance. "They're running for the hills now!"

"They went after TK," Kari whispered shakily.

"He'll be ok, Kari, Patamon will protect him," Gatomon reassured.

Their voices faded out like the sounds of battle had, settling somewhere in the back of his consciousness. Then _he_ faded, drifted off into nothingness, swirled into the vortex of darkness. Something grabbed him, jolting his ascent (or descent, he wasn't sure which way he was going), forcing him to feel, to remember the past.

_The steady click of the keyboard helped to keep his mind clear of the thoughts that sought to run wild. The code was complex and required all his concentration. There wasn't time for him to dissect the theories that had infiltrated after he heard the truth._

"_Why'd you quit soccer?"_

_Izzy's fingers only momentarily faltered on his keyboard before his incessant typing continued._

"_Yo, Izzy!"_

_His lips pursed. "I had more important things to do with my time," he answered without taking his eyes off the computer screen._

_Tai lowered his head and blocked the screen with his mop of wild hair. "What's so important about this? Looks like a bunch of gibberish to me."_

_Izzy batted him away. "It's a computer programming language."_

"_Huh…" Tai plopped himself on a seat beside Izzy and readjusted the goggles on his head._

_Izzy rolled his chair around to face him. "Are you just bored or is there something else I can help you with? I'm a bit preoccupied at the moment."_

_Tai didn't look the least bit offended. "Yeah… you can tell me why you quit soccer."_

"_I already gave you my answer." _

"_Not buyin' it."_

_Izzy groaned. "Everyone has their own choice of extracurricular activities. I'm more interested in spending my time programming than kicking around a ball." _

"_You did both before."_

_Before he overheard his parents admitting that he wasn't really their son._

_Izzy turned back to the computer screen and began typing away blindly, making errors that he'd have to correct later. _

"_Something's up with you," Tai declared, slumping lazily over the desk. "You're being more nerdy than usual."_

"_Well, you're more than welcome to acquire a less nerdy friend."_

_Tai sat up and slung an arm around Izzy's shoulders. "Aw, don't be like that. We just miss having you on the team, that's all." _

_Izzy felt a tiny wave of guilt, but then he remembered the games and his parents in the stands. "Sorry, Tai. It's just not something I want to do anymore."_

_Dark brown eyes watched him intensely for a moment and then Tai's arm slipped off his shoulders and slapped him on the back. "Alright, if that's how it's gonna be, I'll respect that."_

"_Thank you."_

_Tai pushed against the desk with his feet, causing his chair to wheel backwards across the tiled floor. "Well, I better get to practice before coach makes me run laps again." He stood and stretched his arms and then his face was serious. "You know you can talk to me, right Izzy?"_

_Izzy turned to his computer screen. "I doubt you'd understand C++, Tai." His fingers began to fly across the keys._

"_No," Tai said in a voice far softer than usual. "I probably wouldn't."_

_Somehow, when the door clicked behind him and Izzy was alone to focus on his computer program, his thoughts only flew back to the very thing he was trying to forget._

His eyes opened in time to see a laser in the shape of an X shoot over his head. It disintegrated in a flash of light above him and a familiar scratchy laugh echoed across the room. Animamon hovered just below the opening in the ceiling, his pale clawed feet dangled beneath his black robe and his arms, covered in red markings, stretched toward ExVeemon who had shot the attack.

A crackle of electricity caused the hairs on Izzy's arms to stand up. Red lightening sparked around Animamon's fingers then it shot out, throwing ExVeemon backwards until he collided into the newly evolved Stingmon.

"You are still weak," Animamon declared joyfully.

"Well, we're not!" Halsemon shot his tempest wing attack joined by Digmon's drills.

Beneath Animamon's hood, Izzy could make out his sharp smile. The attacks were shielded by red lightening and back lashed across the room. Izzy heard Kabuterimon buzzing from outside and crying out his name. In what seemed like slow motion the drill, encircled with red electricity, came spiraling at Izzy. He was hoping he would feel whole again in death when something metallic darted in front of him.

A boom, like the sound of an exploding generator, deafened him as the electricity charged drill embedded into the center of Andromon's wiring. The android writhed and smoked. Izzy's body trembled as data began to leak from Andromon's back around the tip of the drill that penetrated him.

"Andromon!" Kari screamed.

Izzy speechlessly watched the digimon crumple to floor. He couldn't find the voice to thank him, didn't really know if he should. He had been ready to die.

"T-take-" The robot's body jolted and sparked. "-what ener-ergy I – I – I have- left."

The data flowing from Andromon's wound began to file toward ExVeemon and Stingmon, who both bowed in reverence as they absorbed the last of the android's power. Then Andromon was gone.

Feeling flooded back from the pit of Izzy's stomach, streaming up into his chest, filling the emptiness. Tears clouded his view of where Andromon's disintegrating body had sat just seconds ago.

Animamon's open palms crackled and sparked and his hood rolled back, revealing his human like face and eyes that looked at nothing. His feet met the floor.

"I will weaken and destroy your digimon allies one by one and take you all back into my world."

"No," Ken spat, "we'll finish you first."

Light from his digivice joined Davis's. Their digimon circled one another until the power was blinding. Paildramon emerged, pointing his side arms directly at their enemy.

Kari and Tentomon came to Izzy's side then, helping him up from his cot. Both barraged him with questions about his well-being, but he could think of nothing but the feeling of warm saltwater on his cheeks.

* * *

If there was nothing beyond this life, no place for the soul to spend eternity, no journey to heaven or hell, no reincarnation into a new being, then there was nothingness. His experience was none of these; maybe even the atheists had it wrong. Maybe the soul lingered with the body, trapped in a shell of death and decay, watching its loved ones mourn before its vessel was burnt or buried and it was left to haunt its old footsteps. If it weren't for the pain that screamed life, that would've been his theory.

His eyes hurt the most, wide and unblinking in the wind, forced open to dust and debris, watering so mercilessly that his tear ducts ached. One was so blurred by blood that his vision was completely clouded and it stung so much that he would give almost anything to rub the pain away.

Matt was so overwhelmed by the horrifying paralysis that he could only take in bits and pieces of conversation around him, but he remembered with vivid agony the despair on Sora's face when she thought he was dead. Now the feeling of her cool fingertips wiping away the tears on his cheek was the only thing that kept his mind sane. It reminded him of a time he had come down with a horrible fever and she spent her free time nursing him back to health. Her hands were just as cool against his blistering forehead then, just as gentle running through his sweat soaked hair. She had taken such good care of him. She hadn't seemed nervous at all back then.

A sharp tingling sensation shot through Matt's fingers, like a limb waking up from sleep, heavy and fuzzy. It slowly worked up his arms until it cascaded through his chest and up into his face and down through his stomach and legs. His eyelids immediately shut and an involuntary hiss of pain pushed through his teeth.

Sora spoke his name so softly that he didn't think anyone else could've heard it.

It took all his strength to lift his hand from the ground and reach up to touch the cool fingers that were sweeping back his bangs. It felt like he had slept wrong on his entire body and his limbs were heavy and unresponsive. He heard Sora's breath hitch at his touch. He dragged her fingers to his lips and just let them linger there, allowing the memory Animamon had infiltrated to haunt his thoughts.

In the darkness it was just the two of them and he was grateful that Sora remained silent. Her hand moved beneath his and her thumb slowly traced his lips. His tingling fingers encircled hers, grasping them as tightly as he could. She squeezed back.

Matt saw a red flicker through his closed lids and Sora abruptly released him. The gazimon was back with her torch and she padded up quickly to his other side.

"He's awake," Sora whispered.

"He'll still need some of this if he wants to walk again anytime soon," the gazimon answered. "Drink up."

She pressed a cup against Matt's lips and a warm salty liquid spilled into his throat, making him gag and cough. The painful tingling began to subside and his limbs felt lighter. Two pairs of hands helped him sit up and he cracked open one eye to see TK's wide smile.

"You're ok!" his younger brother shouted.

Matt rubbed the back of his fist against the eye that had been doused in his own blood. "Y-yeah," he coughed.

"How's your head? Any disorientation?" Joe asked, and then as if feeling the need to explain, he continued, "Mimi said you were hit by some debris. She and Tai sent you back on Garurumon."

"I remember."

"Oh Matt!" Gabumon cried, grabbing his partner around the middle. "I'm so sorry, I fell and you – are you sure you're ok?"

"It's ok. I'm just a little sore," Matt replied weakly, patting Gabumon's head. "How's your leg?"

"You remember everything?" Sora interrupted.

Matt looked at her for the first time through his opened eye. Her hair seemed redder in the firelight. "Most of it. I was awake, I just couldn't move anything." He wiped away the pink tears from his cheek. "It was Animamon… he was there."

The others exchanged glances. "We didn't see him," Joe said.

"I didn't either, but he was there. He got into my head. It was just like when were in his world, except I knew what was happening this time. I couldn't see anything but my memories, they completely blinded me."

"Speaking of blind," Gomamon broke in, "Animamon is."

"He's what?"

"Blind."

"What?"

The gazimon nodded her head in confirmation. "He never told any of us, but after awhile you could tell. His eyes are so cloudy and he'd never look at anybody when he talked to them."

"It's why he needed our memories," Sora added. "It wasn't just to create a mix of our worlds; it was because he couldn't create anything but darkness."

Matt watched TK's jaw clench tightly and he could easily read the anger in his brother's normally gentle features.

At that moment, the whole building rattled around them, and the gazimon stood tall on her back feet, twitching her long ears. "That came from the prison."

"We have to go help the others," TK said, jumping to his feet.

Matt continued to watch him carefully until he felt a slender arm wrap around his back.

Sora's face was flushed. "Can you walk?"

With her and Joe's help, Matt was able to get to his feet. He cringed as the movement brought attention to his smaller injuries. His limbs felt odd and jelly-like. He took a step and stumbled a bit.

Sora hooked his arm around her shoulders. "I got him," she told Joe. "Go with TK, we'll catch up."

TK had already begun storming down the dark corridor. Patamon was loyally perched on his head and the gazimon was scrambling to show them the way.

When Joe had jogged away with Gomamon, Matt thought he felt Sora press closer to his side. She was warmer now than before and her fingers were digging tightly into his side, pressing into his ribs. For a second Matt remembered all the times they had held each other, but soon the memory of their failed relationship returned and the words that were hanging on his lips died away.

"Do you think Tai's ok?" he asked instead.

Sora stiffened. "I hope so. He-he told me to help you."

Matt felt something inside him loosen, like a knot untangling. Then, before he could think of what to say, the stone passageway collapsed.


End file.
